The Curse of the Black Pearl Remixed
by XantheXV
Summary: With Barbossa gone, the Black Pearl is now Jack's once again. Unfortunately, his crew left without him, and now he has to face justice. How will Jessabelle manage to cope? Story completed. Please read & review!
1. Prologue: Fog Bound

Author's Note: While watching a movie one day, I got this crazy idea to write a Pirates of the Caribbean fanfic. Hopefully I pin the characters right (especially Captain Jack Sparrow!).

Incidentally, I was watching At World's End and watching clips from On Stranger Tides from the webpage off the Disney website. That may have something to do with it, heh heh. O_O

I hope you enjoy, and please read and review!

I do not own Pirate of the Caribbean in any way, shape, or form!

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><p><strong>Fog Bound<strong>

A merchant ship, bound for the Caribbean, could be seen drifting through the dreary and unnatural fog. Any sailor would know that meant bad luck for anyone. No exceptions…except one.

This ship was not only carrying cargo to be delivered to Port Royal, but also two children. Brother and sister were traveling together to look for their father who had left for a voyage a long time ago. He had left them with their mother to take care of them.

"Shouldn't be long," he had said.

He was gone much longer than they both had thought. During his absence, their mother had grown ill, and died, leaving the two orphans. With no one to care for them, they went in search of their father.

The girl, about the age of thirteen, stood on the port side of the ship, looking out to sea, hopeful. She was fascinated by it, but it would not yield to her the answer she needed most; the answer to the most important question in her mind.

"Where are you, father?" she asked aloud.

The boy, also thirteen, walked up next to her, and grabbed a hold of her hand. "It will be alright," he said reassuringly. "We will find him."

But the look in his eyes was not as reassuring as his words.

Both children looked at the open ocean. A moment of cruel silence told them that they weren't going to find him any time soon. What they did find, though, troubled them.

"Captain!" the boy called. "There's a ship headed for us off our port side!"

The captain walked over to where they were standing, and looked at where the boy had been pointing. The ship that was spotted had black sails. More fog collected around it, making it look eerie. Attached to the top of the mainmast, was a jolly roger.

"Pirates!" the girl shouted.

The captain alerted the crew and called them to arms. The deck of the ship became chaotic as the sailors readied the cannons and made sure that their own weapons were at the ready. The pirate ship was still headed straight for them.

"What now?" the boy asked the captain. The girl held on to her brother's hand as tightly as she could.

The captain didn't answer. He had his arm raised, waiting for the opportune moment to signal the sailors to fire. The other ship was turning so that its starboard side was facing us.

"Prepare to broadside, men!" the captain shouted, so that each and every able-bodied man could hear him.

But the command to fire never came. Without warning, the other ship fired, unleashing its fury. The merchant ship was under attack.

Brother and sister ran to find a good hiding spot, in case the pirates decided to come aboard. The boy found an empty longboat, and picked his sister up and placed her in it.

"Wait here," he said. "I need to report to the captain and help as much as possible. Then I'll be back."

The girl could only nod. She was too afraid, so she couldn't speak. She watched her brother run off.

More cannon fire. She jumped, half expecting one of the cannonballs to knock her clean off of the ship. She watched the crew running around, trying to fight back. Another hit by cannon fire. The girl could feel the ship beginning to sink.

Two sailors noticed her sitting in the longboat, and set to pull on the ropes, hoisting the boat up and over the side of the ship.

"Wait," she began, coming out of shock. "Don't—"

"Sorry, miss," one of them said in a grave tone. "But we need to get you to safety."

"But—"

"Please, don't fight us, miss!" the other pleaded.

She never got the chance to fight back. Another hit by cannon fire caused the sailors to lose their grip, sending the longboat plummeting the rest of the way down to the surface of the water. The girl was knocked back when the boat hit the water. One of the sailors was able to regain his balance and climb down to cast the boat off. The current of the water began carrying her away from the ship.

The boy, noticing what they were doing, ran over to the railing. "Jessabelle!" the boy called out.

The girl, terrified, looked over to her brother. "Will!" she screamed.

The current carried the boat further and further away.

"Jessabelle!" Will's voice grew faint, due to the distance.

"Will!" she screamed again. Her voice cracked through her sobs. She was horrified by the event that occurred next.

The pirate ship made one last effort to sink the merchant ship. Its last cannon fire caused the powder magazine to ignite. The ship was caught in an explosion.

Jessabelle's eyes widened. "Will!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

No one answered or called back.

She began crying. The thought of losing her brother and being alone caused her to cry harder. The more aware she became, the harder she cried. After hours of sailing and crying, she fell asleep, holding on to something hanging around her neck: a gold pirate medallion.

Just as her eyes shut, a blue light appeared and engulfed the longboat. In a matter of seconds, Jessabelle and the boat were gone.

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><p>That's it for the prologue. Let me know what you guys think. I already have the first chapter partially written, but I don't think I will post it until I'm certain people are interested. I have to wait for the opportune moment. :D Again, just let me know if you want more and what you think. No flames please!<p> 


	2. The Medallion Calls

Author's Note: I tried hard not to laugh at myself while writing this chapter. I happened to watch The Tourist the other day, and I played some of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood after that, so both somewhat inspired this chapter. At least I thought it was funny.

All joking aside, I want to thank my one reviewer. If it weren't for you, this chapter would not exist. The next chapter probably wouldn't either.

Still, hoping for more reviews this round. So please read and review! No flames permitted!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. No part at all whatsoever. Just the OC's Jessabelle, Jason, and Stephany.

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><p><strong>Chapter One: The Medallion Calls<strong>

"Jessabelle! Jessabelle, wake up!"

I could feel my body shaking. It most likely had to do with the fact that my friend/adopted brother Jason had woken me up by shaking me. But the nightmare I knew had a lot to do with it. I looked at the black haired, green eyed boy and shook him off.

I looked out the window to our apartment, and saw a beautiful sunrise, coming off of the tops of the apartments just across the canal. I smiled. Nothing could ruin this beautiful Venice day. Not even the nightmare.

"Happy Birthday, J-Belle!" Jason exclaimed. "We made you a pie!"

"A pie?" I asked.

Right behind Jason, a girl with red hair—with blonde streaks—and hazel eyes walked in, carrying the pie in question. I could see the pie had a lot of whipped crème. _Sweet!_ I thought. Sticking out of the whipped crème, I could count 21 candles.

"Sorry," the girl said. "We couldn't find all the ingredients for your favorite cake. Hopefully, you can deal with your favorite pie."

"Coconut crème?"

"Yes," the girl replied.

"Thanks, Steph."

"Hey, I helped, too!" Jason said. He was offended.

"Thank you, Jason, as well."

He nodded, and smiled. "Well, it's time to get up. It may be your birthday, but I don't think Signore Caesre is going to be happy if you're late."

This was true. Our professor, Signore Edward Caesre, had an aversion to tardiness. Despite that, he was laid back and was easy to be around.

"Oh, alright!"

"You need to blow out the candles and make a wish before you get dressed, Jess," Stephanie pointed out. This was also true.

Jason and Stephany sang "Happy Birthday" and told me to make a wish. I closed my eyes wished with all my soul. I knew exactly what I wanted most in this entire world. I wanted my brother and father back. I blew out the candles as hard as I could, hoping that would help the wish come true. All I had to do was wait.

"Okay, everyone out!" I demanded. "Birthday girl needs to get dressed. We got to be down there in an hour."

Stephany and Jason rushed out of the room, and closed the door behind them. I got out of bed and walked over to the glass doors that opened to a balcony. I walked out and felt the cool autumn air on my face and through my dirty blonde locks. The sum was up a little higher, and I was standing in its warmth. I looked over the tops of the apartments on the other side of the canal, and saw what I could of the blue waters Mediterranean. I couldn't help but feel that that's where I needed to be; that that's where I belonged.

"Someday, Will," I said to myself, looking out to where I knew the ocean was. "Someday, I'll find you. And Dad too."

I walked right back to my room, and looked around. It was a mess, most of it due to an assignment give to me by my Art History professor Signore Borgia. Anyone who took his classes knew better than to laugh at him, and they knew not to mention Assassin's Creed to him. Not only did it offend him, but he didn't want to be associated with an antagonist. I did, however, get him to mention that if he played any such game whatsoever, he would enjoy it greatly.

I ignored the mess of acrylic paints, cups of water, and brushes that still had paint on them, and aimed for my closet. I pulled out a plain purple short sleeved shirt, a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, and my favorite black Converse Chucks, and put them on. As soon as I was done with that, I went over to the mirror to assess the condition of my hair. It was a little messy, but looked good enough to go out in public. I grabbed my favorite necklace off the night stand and put it on while I was standing in front of the mirror. It was a gold medallion, shaped as if it were a compass rose. In the middle, on both sides, was a pirate skull. As I clipped it on, I got a good look at myself. It had been eight years since the accident on board that ship. I had changed indefinitely-I had the same golden-brown hair I had then, but my blue eyes were different. I could no longer see fear, but courage and strength. They also had turned a deeper color blue; it was like looking into the depths of the sea.

"Jessabelle, breakfast is ready!" Stephany called.

I broke out of my trance, and took a deep breath. I could smell oranges, bacon, and pancake batter. "Coming!" I said. I did a quick check on my makeup, grabbed my grey zip-up hoodie, and ran to the kitchen.

_Something's gonna happen today_, I thought. _Bad or good, I don't care. But something's gonna happen._

xxx

"Where is he?" Jason asked. "He should have been here ten minutes ago!"

"Come down," Stephany said. "Signore Caesre always comes to class. It might have just taken him longer to prepare, that's all."

I nodded in agreement, but they most likely thought that I was only paying attention to the music playing in my ear. I was currently listening to Aerials by System of a Down, but I had the volume low enough that I could hear what they were saying. I was also drawing a picture of the harbor, with yachts and speed boats casting off and tying up, making port. I imagined what it would have looked like during the Golden Age.

"Yeah, but I wish he would hurry," Jason acknowledged. "We are supposed to learn about pirate rumors and such."

"Pirate legends and the Code," I said, correcting him.

Jason and Stephany looked at me with confusion. "And here I thought you weren't paying attention."

"Oh, I was," I said. "Just because I have my iPod on, the earphones in, and the sketchbook out doesn't mean that I can't hear you."

He shrugged. "Touché."

"It seems that you were able to make it in time."

We turned towards the direction of the voice that joined in on the conversation. Standing to the left of us was a man who looked to be in his late 40's to early 50's. He had dark brown hair, almost black, that was tied back. His eyes were equally dark, and his face was scarred. Just by looking at him, one would assume that he had been in many a battle, but One certainly wouldn't go asking him about it. He seemed quite intimidating. He always wore strange clothes. If anyone asked us about him, we always told them he was eccentric.

"If you three are done sitting around, it's time to climb aboard and begin your lesson," the man said.

"Aye, Signore Caesre!" the three of us exclaimed.

Unlike the local art academy Jason, Stephany, and I attended here in Southern Venice, Signore Caesre didn't charge us for his lessons. He did have us work for it though. He hired us to work in a local inn that he owned named _The Mangled Mermaid_, which looked a lot more intimidating on the outside versus the inside. On the inside, it looked like you had traveled back in time. There were no electric lights, no flat screen TVs. Everything was lit by candle light, and bands played there entertainment-wise. We acted as bartenders and a bus boy-much to Jason's discomfort-in exchange for lessons about pirates. Signore Caesre knew a lot about pirates, more than anyone else I knew.

We climbed into his longboat (he didn't own a speed boat because he believed them to be too dangerous) and cast off towards an island a few miles south off from Southern Venice. When we were plenty of miles away from both the island and the mainland, and any other boats, Signore Caesre began.

"First off," he said. "I want to wish you happy birthday, Jessabelle."

"Thank you, Signore." _I can't believe he remembered_, I thought.

"Second, we will be discussing the Pirate Code, and pirate legends."

"Yes!" Jason exclaimed. "Can we start off with the legends first?"

"I suppose we could," Caesre replied. "Let's see. There is a legend about the Fountain of-"

Caesre trailed off. I saw his gaze trail from my face to my chest. I followed his gaze, and saw that he was looking at the medallion.

"Where did you get that?" he inquired.

"The pirate medallion?" I asked in return. "It was a gift from my father. I received it when I was thirteen."

"Hmmm." Caesre had become lost in thought, stroking his beard. He had it braided into two separate braids. "Interesting. I believe that there is a legend about a treasure that has to do with medallions that look very similar to the one you are currently wearing around your neck, Miss Turner."

"Really?" He hardly ever used my last name, but since we were in a classroom setting, I brushed it off as teacher-student recognition.

"Aye. There is a tale that involves the Aztecs and Hernán Cortez himself. It's more of a ghost story than a legend."

"Could you tell us about it?" Stephany asked. "I'm kinda curious now."

I heard thunder in the distance. I looked behind me and saw lightning way off in the distance towards the east. I looked above our current location and towards the harbor. There were rain clouds beginning to form over Southern Venice.

_That's odd_, I thought. _The weatherman said that it was supposed to be sunny today. Then again, you can trust a weatherman just as much as you can trust a pirate._

"Very well," Caesre said. "Take a look at Jessabelle's medallion. It will serve as a sample for our lesson for today." During his introduction, he was pointing to my necklace. "This is Aztec gold. One of 882 pieces that were put in a stone chest and handed to Hernán Cortez himself. Cortez's greed was insatiable, so the Aztec gods who had handed the gold to him placed a curse on it."

"Most likely to teach him a lesson," Jason piped up.

"Aye. The curse was a terrible one at that."

"What was the curse?" Stephany asked.

"Any mortal that removes but one piece from that chest shall be punished for eternity."

"Like, they'll live for an eternity, kind of a thing?" Jason asked.

Caesre nodded.

Jason looked at me. "Your dad didn't steal from the chest, did he?" he asked teasingly.

"How should I know?" I said. "I don't remember much about him. I do remember that he was a merchant, though."

"Hey, I was just kidding!"

I laughed a weak laugh. "I know." I sighed. "I know."

I began thinking about my father, wondering if he really was just a merchant. My hand automatically went towards the medallion. I fiddled with it, turning it around in between my fingers.

Thunder sounded off near us. I looked up and saw that the rain clouds grew darker, threatening to bring about a storm.

"We better head back to shore," Caesre suggested. "We can continue at _The Mangled Mermaid_."

We all agreed, and Caesre began rowing, Jason aiding him in doing so.

We didn't get far. After about five minutes of them rowing, the boat suddenly rocked violently, as if something hit it.

"What was that?" I asked

"Did we hit something?" Jason asked.

"Not likely," was Casere's response.

The boat rocked again. Stephany and I squealed the third time it rocked, threatening to tip us over. About the fifth or sixth time, I was sent plunging into the water. It was lucky that I had all of my valuables in my waterproof backpack, or I would have lost my notes for today's lesson.

I came back up, and began coughing and spewing water.

"Jessabelle!" Stephany screamed.

"Come on!" Jason yelled. "Before the storm hits!"

"Oh shut it!" I yelled back at him.

"Okay," he said, slinking away from the edge of the boat as much as possible, without tipping it over.

As I was swimming towards the boat, I felt something grab my ankle. I stopped swimming, and tried to kick whatever it was off. I felt a tug, and went under. I kicked furiously, and resurfaced.

"Jessabelle!" Stephany screamed again.

I struggled against the force that was pulling at me. I was dragged under again. I struggled, kicking and grabbing at my ankle to free myself. But I couldn't feel anything holding on, and I couldn't see what had possibly caused me to be dragged down. I struggled even more, but I couldn't seem to swim back to the surface. I was going down, and there was nothing I could do. I felt my lungs burning, and I knew I was quickly losing oxygen. I struggled even more, but to no avail. I began blacking out. The last thing I saw in my watery prison was the shimmer of a blue light that began to envelope me. Then, everything faded into the darkness.


	3. Reunion

Author's Note: So here's the next chapter guys! I hope you enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Reunion<strong>

I wasn't out for long. My eyes opened after what felt like hours, and I noticed that I was still under the water. I swam back up to the surface as fast as I could, making sure that I wasn't going to be grabbed again. I broke through the waves, gasping for air. My lungs were burning from holding my breath for so long. When I got back to the surface, I noticed that it was raining hard. What I didn't notice was Venice, Signor Caesre, and my friends.

"Jason! Stephany!" I shouted. I had to practically scream over the sound of the thunder.

No one answered. I called out their names again, but still no answered.

I looked around to see if there would be a passing speed boat that I could hitch a ride from. But no one came.

I stopped swimming for a moment, and immediately regretted it. A huge wave pulled me under, and I struggled to get to the surface. In between the moments of being sent under water and coming back up, I saw a passing ship. It seemed to be having just a hard enough time in the storm as I was. I looked up at the ship to study it when I wasn't nearly drowning, and noticed that it was neither an extremely large speed boat nor a yacht, but an actual wooden ship. It would have put Caesre's boat to shame.

I went under once again, and came back up just as fast. In the midst of coughing, I called out to the ship, hoping they may stop and turn to come get me.

"Hey!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Over here!" I went under once again, and then came back up.

"Help!" I screamed through my coughing.

Over the roar of the wind and the rain pouring down, I heard someone yell, "Man overboard!"

_Man?_ I wondered. _More like woman, thank you._

I saw the ship begin to turn ever so slightly in my direction. I smiled and then called out to the ship again. "Hey! I'm here!"

I began to swim parallel with the ship so that I was on its starboard side. However, when I got closer to the ship, I went under again, dragged under by the force of the waves. I struggled to make it back up, but the waves were more frequent, and every time I hit the surface, I was sent back under the water. My lungs began to burn again. I knew then that there was no way I could survive. I began to black out. Again.

_I just turned 21, and already I'm dying_, I thought_. I haven't even lived yet. Guess this is goodbye world._

As I was ready to accept my fate, I saw a dark form heading right for me.

xxx

I knew I was out of the water, but I couldn't breathe. I could hear voices all around me.

I'm dead, I thought. I'm dead and there's nothing I can do about it.

I felt someone's fingers touch my throat, as if to check my pulse. Then I felt lips touching mine. Whoever it was, was now blowing air into my lungs. Within the first five times of that someone pushing down on my chest, I began spewing water and coughing. I sat up fast and opened my eyes, still coughing.

"Are you alright there, love?" I heard a man ask.

When I was finally done coughing up water, I finally said, "Yeah. I am now, anyway."

I looked up to thank the man who saved me, but I couldn't manage to get the words out. I still had a hard time breathing.

"Mr. Turner, why do escort the young lady below," the man said. "Mr. Gibbs."

"Aye, Cap'n?" another man asked.

"Fetch some rum."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n!"

"Everyone else, keep the ship sailin'."

Another man, who I assumed to be Mr. Turner, walked over to me and helped me up. He walked me down a small flight of stairs that led into the hold, and led to a chair where I could sit up properly and recover.

"Thank you," I said.

I looked up at the man. He looked to be about the same age as me, with brown eyes and brown curls that were pulled back by a ribbon. He wasn't bad looking either. I also noticed that he was dressed oddly. He was wearing clothing that fit in more with the Colonial era. Strangely, though, he looked very familiar. Before I could ask who he was, I heard the hatch to the hold open and close. Two men entered the room.

Both men were roughly the same height. One had greyed hair, some of it pulled back by a ribbon, and was wearing a white shirt with a grey worn out vest, a pair of navy blue trousers, and dark brown boots. He was carrying four tankards. However, it was the man beside him that really caught my eye.

Compared to the older man, he was much younger, but a little older than Mr. Turner. He had long brown hair-some of it was done up in dreads- that was covered by a red bandana and a beaten up tricorn. He had a mustache outlining the top of his upper lip, a soul patch, and a small beard that was pulled into two beaded braids. He wore an open white shirt, blue vest (it was open as well, and secured underneath a white and maroon striped sash) grey pants, a dark blue coat, and brown boots. As if I couldn't breathe to begin with, looking at him didn't help. He was very handsome, very handsome indeed.

It was as if there was no one else in the room but him and me. Looking into his eyes, I thought I had melted. I was entranced by his dark, chocolate brown eyes, which were outlined by what looked like black eyeliner. It really brought his eye color out, and all the more hypnotic. I thought that I was going to pass out. He was absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't believe that this was the man who saved my life.

I was eventually brought back into reality when I heard the older man speak. "Would you care for a drink, miss?"

Realizing he was talking to me, I merely nodded, afraid of speaking and sounding like an old woman. My throat was really dry, and burning.

He grabbed a bottle out of the younger man's hand and began pouring drinks. The younger must have noticed that I was trembling because he grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around my arms.

The older man handed me one of the tankards, as well as the other two. I took a swig of the drink, and quickly swallowed. It was pretty good. I immediately began chugging it down, feeling a tingling sensation in my throat, thankful that I had something cooling off my throat.

When I felt that I could speak clearly, I looked both the young man and older man and said, "Thank you. What is this stuff?" I gestured to the tankards.

"Rum," the older one answered. "Better than any drink I'd ever had."

"Ah," I said. "Not bad for being my first alcoholic beverage."

Both men seemed surprised.

"You're pirates, aren't you? Who are you, might I ask?"

The younger man spoke first. "Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service." He pointed to the older man. "This filthy shellback is Mr. Joshamee Gibbs. And aye, we are."

_I knew it_, I thought.

Mr. Turner shook his head, and then walked up to me. "My name's Will Turner," he said.

"Will...Turner?" I asked. He nodded.

_His name sounds very familiar_, I thought. _He even looks familiar_.

"And who might you be, love?" Jack asked.

"Jessabelle," I finally said. "Jessabelle Turner."

"Turner, you say?" Jack looked over at Will, who looked as though he had seen a ghost.

I looked at Will, confused. "What's wrong?"

"Jessabelle?"

"What?" Then I looked at Will closer. It suddenly hit me. There was a reason why he looked so familiar. I suddenly had a vision of seeing a boy, blackened by smoke.

"Will?"

He smiled, and said, "Yes. It's me, Jessabelle."

I put my tankard down, got up, and ran to him. I probably would have made an excellent football player, because I almost knocked Will down just trying to hug him.

"Oh my God! I can't believe it's you!" I said. "I never thought I'd see you again." I was now officially crying. I had cried since my adopted parents told me that Will was probably gone. But I never stopped believing that he was alive.

"Hey, it's alright," he said, hugging me closer. "I wasn't sure if you had survived the attack or not. I'm glad you're safe."

"Might I ask how it is you two know each other?" Jack asked.

"Jack," Will began. "This is my sister."

Jack looked relieved.

xxx

Will and I told Jack and Gibbs about the attack from eight years ago. I mentioned that we had gotten separated when two of the crewmen had put me on a longboat and cast me off, hoping I would be safe, or float to safety.

"The next thing I knew, a blue light shone through the fog and enveloped the entire boat. I woke up off the east coast of Florida, in the year 2003." I said.

"That's very interesting," Jack said.

"You mean, you were in the future?" asked Gibbs.

"Well, that would explain why I didn't feel like I belonged," I said. "I always did feel as though I were in the wrong time."

"That would also explain why no one could find you," Will pointed out.

"I have heard some strange tales," Jack said. "But not a one like this."

I giggled. I looked around the hold of the _Interceptor _(I learned what the ship was called during our discussion of how I got here). My eyes grew heavy, and then I yawned.

"You look tired," Will pointed out.

"I am tired," I said, somewhat irritated that he pointed out the obvious. "My limbs hurt from all of the swimming and struggling I was doing."

I stood up, and took my backpack off of my shoulders. I had completely forgotten all about it. Then I walked around, looking for rope and any type of sheets I could find.

"What're you doing?" Gibbs asked. He's speech was a bit slurred from the amount of rum he had consumed.

"Looking for something to build a hammock," I replied.

"I'll go see if I can find anything up on deck," Will said, getting up and heading for the stairs.

"I'll join ye, lad," Gibbs pitched in. I think everyone in the hold knew that he was most likely heading for his own hammock.

"Okay, thanks."

I noticed that Jack wasn't doing anything. I almost said something to him about it, but was too tired to do so. So I continued to look for things to make a hammock.

I stopped for a second and looked at him. I wanted to thank him for what he had done for me, but I couldn't seem to put words into coherent sentences. We just stood there, staring at each other.

Jack was the first to speak. "Interesting."

"What's interesting?" I asked.

"Bootstrap never mentioned having a daughter."

"Bootstrap?" _Who the hell is Bootstrap? _I wondered.

Jack pointed to me. "Your father."

I was stunned. "You knew my father? Do you know where he is?"

"Most likely aboard the _Black Pearl_. That's the last I saw of him, at least."

As if he knew I was going to ask, he continued by saying, "The _Black Pear_l is a pirate ship, which we are currently in pursuit of. Under the command of a Hector Barbossa, as it were." Jack didn't seem too happy with this fact.

"Oh." _Maybe Will got wind of where our father was and asked Jack for his help_, I thought.

We stopped talking for a moment, which I was very glad of since I had run out of things to say. It seemed like the captain did as well. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him—his eyes kept me glued to where I was standing.

I finally gathered up the courage to start the conversation again. "So, how do you know him?"

"Who?"

"My father."

"Oh," Jack said. "Well, you see, darlin', it's like this. I was once captain of the _Black Pearl_. Still am. I met your father when he signed up to go on a venture with me to look for a curious treasure. I was really the only one who knew him as William Turner."

"I see. And Will? How did you two become acquainted?"

"Sprung me from jail." He looked pleased with himself.

I crossed my arms, deep in thought. "So, my father was a pirate?"

"Aye."

I smiled. "Sweet!"

"You seem to be more acceptin' than your brother."

"Really? Hmmm."

A cool breeze came in through the hatch. I shivered and my teeth started to chatter.

"So...t-t-then...w-w-why are y-you..."

"You're shaking, love."

"I'll b-b-be f-f-f-fine." I was lying of course. I couldn't feel my feet or my legs.

"Hold on tight, and I'll see if there's anything we can scrounge up for you to wear instead. Those clothes of yours are drenched."

"T-t-t-thank y-y-you."

I sat down on the chair I had been sitting on during our chat with Will and Gibbs, and began assessing the situation I was currently in.

_Okay_, I thought. _This has got to be a dream. I'm surrounded by pirates. I found my brother, and possibly the location of my father. I can time travel._

I looked around the hold. "Yeah," I said to myself. "I'm in over my head."

I thought about my private chat with the captain. _He really seemed quite sincere_, I thought. _I know you should never trust a pirate, but there was something about him. He was quite charming. Maybe that comes naturally. He's probably had tons of women, which would come as no surprise. But, still. Maybe..._

I heard footsteps stomping down on the stairs, which broke me from my thoughts. Jack had brought down with him a white shirt, black trousers, a brown vest, and a pair of boots. I must have had a confused look on my face, because he said, "Just looked into everyone's belongings, and, well..."

I smiled. I really didn't care. He handed them to me, and found that they were unbelievably dry, despite the storm that most likely drenched everything else with water.

"T-t-thank y-you."

I looked around the hold to find a good place to change, but couldn't find anywhere that fit the criteria of a good hiding place.

"I'll leave ya to change. I'll inform those above to keep out of here until you give the all clear."

I nodded, too cold to speak. Immediately, he turned around and strutted to the stairway. I watched him leave until I was sure that he wasn't coming back down. After all, you can't trust a pirate. Even a charming one.

Once I was done changing, I walked back to the main deck. It stopped raining, but it was still dark outside. As soon as I was up, everyone who had been busy at the time of my arrival looked at me as though they had never seen me before in their entire lives. I was a stranger to them. An outcast; and I could tell by some of their expressions that I wasn't exactly welcome.

"Who is she?" a woman asked_. I thought it was bad luck to bring a woman aboard a ship_, I thought. _Guess I've seen everything, or just about_.

It was Will who answered her question. "This is Jessabelle. She's my sister."

"Hmph."

Everyone went back to their work. Will walked up to me and handed me some rope. "Hopefully that will work as far as hammocks go. Gibbs is still locating a sheet that you can use."

"Oh," I said. "Thanks."

"That may not be necessary, young William." Jack butted in.

"And why's that, Captain?" I asked.

He seemed very pleased by my calling him by his title, because he was smiling. "Because you'll be taking my temporary quarters, Miss Turner." he offered.

"Um...I don't know if I should..."

_What am I thinking, refusing his offer_, I thought. _Sleeping on an actual bed is way better than sleeping in a hammock. Plus, I'm a light sleeper, so if he tries anything..._

"You know what, I'll take you up on that offer."

Jack smiled. Will, on the other hand, didn't look pleased. "Jessabelle, I don't think-"

"Oh, come on, Will," I said. Then, more to him so that Jack couldn't hear me, I added. "If he tries anything, I know how to deal with him. I can take care of myself."

"Very well."

"Is she a mermaid?" I heard one of the crew members whisper. He was quite short for a pirate. He was actually the shortest one on board, and he looked at me accusingly, thinking that I may have had something to do with the storm.

"She most certainly is not, Master Marty," Jack said. "I've seen them, and she is not one of them."

I smiled, surprised that a complete stranger would defend me.

I followed Jack to a small cabin. For a captain's cabin, it wasn't very big. But it did have a nice sized bed, big enough for two. I was going to have to make sure to spread out enough that no one could sneak in and join me.

"Now, if you don't mind love, I'll be takin' my leave and heading back to the helm. Need to make sure we stay on course."

"Of course," I said.

Jack did a sort of Oriental bow, turned, and walked to the door. He paused and turned back around.

"There are some minor refreshments in that cabinet over there, if you're hungry. I'm sure the owners won't mind."

"So this isn't your ship," I mused. "I guess I'll have to thank whoever owns it for the use of their quarters and the minor refreshments."

Jack's face twitched a bit, not looking pleased with the fact that I had caught on to the detail he let slip. He turned back towards the door and opened it.

He was just about to walk out when I said, "Hey, Captain Sparrow?"

He stopped in his tracks. "What is it?"

"Thank you, Captain. For saving my life. For everything."

"Call me Jack, love."

He was about to leave when I noticed him looking down at my chest. I looked down and saw my medallion. "What?" I asked.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, pointing at the medallion.

"My father sent it to me. Said it was a birthday present."

"That's very interesting." With that, he walked out and shut the door behind him.

I set my stuff on the table that was in the middle of the cabin, pulled my new boots off, and blew the lanterns out that were lighting the room. I didn't even want to bother with food, so I walked over to the bed, pulled the covers back, and laid down. The pillows were soft enough, and I started to drift off into a deep sleep.


	4. Isla de Muerta

Author's Note: Sorry about the wait. I got caught up in school and I have been trying to focus on writing chapters for one of my other stories. Obviously that didn't work.

I couldn't help but write in an extra day before they get to Isla de Muerta. I thought that would be realistic in a way and it gives the main character time to re-establish her relationship with her brother (Will) and to get to know Captain Jack.

Hope you enjoy reading the chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it! When you review, please NO FLAMES!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean whatsoever. I only own my OC!

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Isla de Muerta<strong>

I refused to wake up. Last night made my birthday the best I could have ever had, and I didn't want to ruin it by waking up and realizing it had all been a dream. I was fighting the morning sun by pulling the covers over my head and shutting my eyes as tightly as I could. But, it was to no avail. I lost, and the day won.

I reluctantly pulled the covers away from my face, and slowly opened my eyes. I looked around, and smiled. I was still aboard the _Interceptor_. I was still in the middle of the ocean. I was still wearing the outfit that Jack had given me. I sat up in the bed and took a deep breath. I looked out of the window, and noticed that there was a partly cloudy sky welcoming me to the new day, encouraging me to venture to the main deck. I got up out of bed, put my shoes on, and headed outside.

The breeze felt nice compared to last night. That could have something to do with the fact that I was actually dry and not drench with a mixture of seawater and rainwater. I looked around to see if I could find Will. I spotted him on the portside of the ship, closer to the bow, and began walking in that direction.

"Morning, Will!" I exclaimed.

"Morning, Jessabelle," he replied. "I see you managed to sleep in late."

"Sorry. I'm kinda used to it. Have been for the past eight years."

He smiled. I missed that smile.

"So, what are you doing?"

"Making sure that the sails are tied up properly."

"Oh," was all I could say.

There was a brief pause, and then Will asked "Would you like to help?"

I opened my mouth to say yes, but paused, remembering that I had no idea what to do on a yacht, let alone a ship like this. I then pointed towards the stern, saying, "Yes, but I think I will help over there."

I quickly walked away. _He knows_, I thought. _I know it. He knows I have no idea what I'm doing_.

I knew I was saved from endless humiliation and teasing from Will when I saw the one person I thought that I dreamed up last night.

"Captain…er…I mean…Jack, can I ask you something?"

Jack looked at me as if I were a ghost.

"I mean, I know you did a lot for me last night, and I feel sorry for asking you this, but I—"

"What is it, love?" he interrupted me. His expression had changed, and he was smiling.

_Great_, I thought. _I am now rambling in front of a guy who isn't closely related to me in any way, and he's laughing at me…on the inside no doubt!_

I looked around and noticed that Ana Maria, the woman pirate I had the pleasure (or displeasure—I wasn't quite sure) of encountering last night, looking at me with her dark brown eyes, arms crossed. _If looks could kill_. She walked away.

"Would you please…uh…teach me how to secure the sails' lines like the rest of the crew is doing?" I said low enough that he could hear me and so no one else could.

"Come again?"

"I really don't know how to do anything on a boat—ship! I mean a ship!"

"Ah. Well, darlin', I'd be happy to."

I was surprised by his acquiescence. "Really?"

"Why not?" he asked in return. "After all, I need to make sure that we keep this ship sailin', savvy?"

"Of course."

It was at that moment, and during the lesson, too, that I felt like I was once again in high school. I was caught up in the "I have a crush on someone" moment.

xxx

I learned a lot from Captain Sparrow. He not only taught me how to work on a ship—trimming the sails, securing the tackline, etc.—but he also taught me a little on how to use a sword, a lesson he believed would be necessary if I were ever caught in the middle of a fight and needed a quick way to get out of it.

We had just finished a lesson when Will walked up. "How far are we, Jack?"

Jack sheathed his sword and then said, "Not far now, Mr. Turner. We'll reach Isla de Muerta by tomorrow."

He then turned to me. "You can put that away now. I think you've learned enough for today."

I nodded and sheathed the sword that he had lent to me. He walked up to me and said in a voice low enough for me to hear, "You're a fast learner, Miss Turner. You'd likely be able to learn a thing or two from your brother." He smiled, winked at me, and put a hand on my shoulder as he walked back towards the helm. It sent a chill down my spine.

I turned to look at Will, who had already headed down the stairs leading back to the main deck. I followed behind him quickly. He started pulling on some ropes.

"Will, let me help you with that," I offered.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded, sure that I knew what I was doing this time. He pulled more rope down, and I tied it down when he told me to. I smiled when I knotted it the correct way.

Will chuckled.

"What?"

"You went and asked Jack for help, didn't you?" he asked.

I looked back at the rope, fearing that Will would see me blushing. _Damn,_ I thought. _He does know!_ "Maybe," I simply stated.

"Jessabelle."

I looked back up at him, knowing he was onto me. I could feel the heat coming to my face. I was hard core blushing, completely embarrassed.

"Okay, fine." I finally said. "I asked him to teach me a few things. Are you happy now?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Well," he said. "I can't really say much, now can I?"

I looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Well, there is a reason why we are heading towards the Isla de Muerta, with pirates none the less."

"And that is why?"

"A friend of mine was kidnapped by the pirates that overran Port Royal—the port where I've been living for the past eight years," he explained.

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain—" My thoughts interrupted me, the light in the attic turning on. I smiled. "Ah."

"What?"

"So, what's her name?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, William Turner," I said. "You know exactly what I mean."

He caved. "Her name is Elizabeth."

"Ha!" _I've still got it!_ I thought. "Will's got a girlfriend!"

"A what?"

I felt like hitting myself in the forehead. "Right…forgot where I was. Elizabeth is a girl, that happens to be a friend of yours, that you have really strong feelings for."

"Ah."

I thus continued my taunting and teasing. "Will's got a girlfriend, Will's got a girlfriend!" _This is for all those times you teased me!_

"Stop it," was all he could say.

"Oh, come on. You know I'm giving you a hard time." I smiled.

He chuckled and smiled. I hit him softly in the arm, and pushed him into working some more.

xxx

I had gone to bed earlier than everyone else. Jack let me sleep in his quarters again, for which I was relieved. I had skipped dinner on account of I was tired and I didn't really think anyone else wanted me there in the first place (with the exception of Will, and maybe Jack). I pulled my shoes off, and climbed into bed. Despite being so tired, I couldn't go to sleep. So I pulled out my backpack and grabbed my iPod out of it, and began to listening to music. I fell asleep listening to I Don't Care by Apocalyptica featuring Adam Gontier.

My body woke me up at around 3:30 in the morning. My iPod was in the middle of playing Arise by Flyleaf. I looked out the window saw that fog was beginning to form. I got up out of bed and headed outside, hoping the sounds of the sea would make me tired enough to want to go back to sleep.

There weren't many crew members above deck, so no one was really able to get me grief for standing at the starboard side rail and looking out towards the sea. I turned my iPod off and slipped it into the one pocket I had in the trousers I was wearing. I stood there, closed my eyes, and listened to the sounds of the sea. There was one sound I wasn't expecting to hear.

"Still awake, love?" Jack asked.

I turned to look at him. He was dressed down, to an extent. He was in just his shirt, trousers, and maroon and white sash. He was even walking around the deck barefoot. I couldn't stop looking at him.

"Couldn't sleep," I finally said, tearing my eyes away.

He walked towards the rail and stood next to me. I kept looking out towards the sea, trying to ignore just how close the captain was in proximity from me. It wasn't working. It felt as though I couldn't breathe.

"Beautiful night," I managed to say.

"Certainly is," Jack answered.

There was an awkward pause. I wasn't much for small talk. I guess I would have to learn. "So…how long have you been a captain?"

"Three or four years, I suppose," he said. I looked over at him. He seemed to be giving it some thought.

"That's quite some time just to be a captain. You must have years of experience under your belt. Figuratively." I added the last part in quickly, hoping he wouldn't actually look under his sash.

"Oh, yes."

Another brief silence.

"You mentioned that you had been…I mean, are captain of the _Black Pearl_. Was that during that time?"

He looked down at me as though I had pushed it too far. "Sorry, but I'm just curious and interested to know."

And that's when I found out about Jack's main passion, besides rum—the _Black Pearl_. I never knew anyone who was more passionate about anything in their entire life, with the exception of Caesre and my art professor. I actually thought it was beautiful.

When I went back to the cabin, I got back into bed and immediately fell back asleep.

xxx

The fog had grown thicker during the night. By morning, you could barely see anything in front or behind the ship. I walked up to where Will and Gibbs had been standing at the bow of the ship where everyone else was standing. Overhead, I could hear one of the crew member's parrot (learned that the man's name was Cotton) squawking "Dead men tell no tales!" It sounded eerie in combination with the fog.

Gibbs broke the silence. "Puts a chill in the bones how many honest sailors have been claimed by this passage." He walked off and Will and I followed.

"How is it Jack came by that compass?" Will asked as he looked and pointed to Jack.

"Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of Isla de Muerta. That was before I met him, back when he was Captain of the _Black Pearl_.

"What?" Will asked, concerned. Gibbs had been taking a drink at the time. He suddenly stopped. "He failed to mention that."

"Well, he plays things closer to the vest now. And a hard-learned lesson it was. See three days out on the venture, the first mate comes to him and says everything's an equal share. That should mean the location of the treasure, too, so Jack gives up the bearings."

"Well, that would make sense," I said. "That would be fair."

"Aye, but that's just it, lass," Gibbs said. "That night, there was a mutiny. They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die, but not before he'd gone mad with the heat."

"Ah," Will said. "So that's the reason for all the—" He made a movement that I guessed was supposed to be an imitation of Jack.

"Reason's got nothing to do with it." He sat down, and we did as well. "Now Will, Jessabelle, when a man is marooned he is given a pistol with a single shot. One shot."

"Well, that doesn't do anyone any good," I said.

"It won't do much good huntin' or to be rescued, aye. But after three weeks of a starvin' belly and thirst, that pistol will start to look real friendly. But Jack—he escaped the island, and he still has that one shot. Oh, but he won't use it, though, save for one man. His mutinous first mate."

"Barbossa," Will and I said together. _That's why he is after Barbossa_, I thought. _Everything makes sense now, for the most part_.

"Aye," Gibbs confirmed.

"How did Jack get off the island?" I asked.

"Well, I'll tell ye. He waded out into the shallows and there he waited for three days and three nights 'til all manner of sea creatures came and acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, lashed them together, and made a raft."

"He roped a couple of sea turtles?" Will questioned.

"Aye, sea turtles!"

"What did he use for rope?"

Gibbs looked as though he was about to answer, but hesitated. He looked to his left. We followed his gaze and saw that Jack had joined us.

"Human hair," he stated. "From my back."

Gibbs nodded in agreement, proud of the feat even if it wasn't accomplished by him.

"Let go the anchor!" Jack ordered the crew.

"Aye, Cap'n! Aye!" they replied.

"Mister Turner and I are to go ashore."

Gibbs jumped up from his seat. So did I. "Cap'n, what if the worst should happen?"

Jack thought about it for a minute. "Keep to the Code."

"Aye, the Code."

I watched as Will and Jack were about to get into the longboat that was to go ashore. I tried to sneak on the boat, but Will stopped me. "No, Jessabelle. Stay aboard."

"And why should I do that?" I wanted to go with them. It would give me all the more reason to tease Will and give me more time with Jack.

"Your brother's right, love," Jack said. "It's probably best you stay aboard."

"Fine, but I still think I should go."

Right before they climbed in, I pulled Jack aside. "Jack, please bring Will back safely."

He nodded. "I'll do what I can." With that, he climbed in and they set off.

Gibbs walked up to the railing and stood next to me.

"What Code are you to keep to if the worst should happen?" I asked him.

"Any man who falls behind is left behind."


	5. Barbossa

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! Please review, and NO FLAMES! I laugh at them anyway.

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean at all. Just Jessabelle, Stephany, and Jason.

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: Barbossa<strong>

Thirty minutes. To most people, that isn't very long at all. Those thirty minutes that Will and Jack were gone were the longest thirty minutes of my entire life.

And then they returned. Well, one of them did anyway.

I was practicing some of the movements and techniques that Jack had taught me on the main mast when the Gibbs and the crew gathered around the starboard side of the ship. Curious to see what they were looking at, I put my hand crafted wooden sword away and made my way over to the railing.

_What the bloody hell is going on over there?_ I wondered. _Are they back?_An image of Jack's smile and his chocolate brown eyes popped into my head. I quickened my pace.

There was definitely a reason for gathering the way we did, because the second I got to the front of the group, a girl around my age landed on the deck with a soft thud, feet first. She looked around, observing the motley crew in front of her. She looked irritated.

I assumed this was Elizabeth. _No wonder Will likes her_, I thought. _She's very pretty_.

"Not more pirates," she said.

Gibbs stepped forward. "Welcome aboard, Miss Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth gave him a puzzled look. "Mr. Gibbs?"

As if he were answering her question (more like ignoring, as if it were obvious), Gibbs turned to Will and asked "Hey, boy! Where be Jack?"

Elizabeth looked at Will furiously. "Jack? Jack Sparrow?"

I suddenly became aware that Jack was missing. My attention was directed by Elizabeth's arrival that I didn't even notice his absence. I quickly walked over to the rail, and looked over to Isla de Muerta.

"He fell behind," was Will's statement.

I quickly whipped around to face Will. He began leading Elizabeth to the hold.

I looked at Gibbs pleadingly, hoping he would make someone go in after him.

He looked around, staring at the face of each of the crew members. "Keep to the Code!" he shouted.

Ana Maria began shouting orders, and everyone rushed off to follow said orders. Gibbs looked to me and then out towards the island.

I looked down, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. Then I looked out towards the island. I didn't want Gibbs to see the tears that were beginning to form. I continued to fight them, not allowing them to fall. I was angry, and upset.

I ran past Gibbs, and into the hold.

xxx

I made my way down the stairs and into the hold. I was so furious that I almost ran into Elizabeth on my way down.

"Sorry," was all I could muster to say.

She nodded as if to the same. I looked straight at her. Her eyes were red. She made her way up the stairs.

_What happened down here?_I wondered.

When I got down to the bottom of the staircase, I saw Will siting at a table looking down. He must have heard me coming because he stopped looking at whatever it was he was looking at and turned to look up at me.

He looked upset. That expression turned to worry. "Jessabelle?"

"Why?" was all I could say.

"Why what?"

"Why did you leave him behind?"

"Jessabelle, he's a pirate. And apparently they have a Code to keep."

"Don't give me that," I said. "To hell with the Code for all I care!"

"We're pirates as well," Will added.

"Well, no freakin' duh!" I exclaimed, as if it were obvious. "Now, stop changing the subject!"

_I can't believe he's trying to change the subject!_ I thought. _Why do men always do that?_

"Jessabelle," Will began.

"You should have gone back for him!" I interrupted. I began to pace around. "I don't care if there's some rule about leaving someone behind! You should have just gotten him out of there when you grabbed Elizabeth. Or was she more important than...other people?"

"Jessabelle," Will said. "Calm down."

"Never tell a girl the calm down, Will!" I exclaimed. I had never been so angry before in my entire life. I actually began to cry.

He waited until I was done. I was so mad that I was shaking. "Jessabelle, come sit down."

I did, and I laid my head down on the table. I could feel Will rubbing my back.

"I did it for a reason," Will finally said when I was done crying.

"And what reason is that?" I asked.

That's when he told about when he first met Jack and his first night in Tortuga. He told me about Jack mentioning using "leverage" to get Barbossa to give him the _Pearl_.

I was no longer mad at Will, but I didn't necessarily like the fact that he was eavesdropping.

"Alright. I forgive you...creeper." I laughed a little, just to let him know things were okay between us.

He chuckled. "And what about Jack."

"If I see him again, I'll give him a piece of my mind."

"Heh. Well, I'm going to go above and help." He walked to the staircase and hesitated. "Are you coming?"

"You go ahead. I'll be up in a few."

I watched him head up the stairs, and I heard the hatch open and close. I sat there for a minute, alone.

_So, Jack was using Will? Or planning on using him?_ I wondered. _That doesn't seem likely. Or does it? I don't really know the guy.  
><em>  
>I looked back at the stairs, and then to where Will was sitting. I looked around the entire hold.<p>

_Why would Jack do that? Knowing that, I should be mad at him, right?_ I was starting to doubt myself. _Then why am I not?_

I couldn't be mad at him, for some reason. I just couldn't figure out what that reason was.

I suddenly fell backward. The ship came to a complete stop.

xxx

When I got back to the main deck, there was total chaos. I had to duck just to make sure I wasn't blown back by a cannon ball. I ran over to Will, who was at the starboard rail, shooting over towards the ship that was attacking us.

"What's going on?" I had to shout to make sure he heard me.

"The _Black Pearl_caught up with us," Will said. "He must have noticed that the medallion was gone."

"Huh?"

Gibbs turned towards Elizabeth and shouted, while he was reloading his rifle, "We could use a few more ideas, lass!"

"Your turn!" she shouted back.

"We need us a devil's dowry!"

Ana Maria pulled on Elizabeth's arm and put a pistol to her head. "We'll give 'em her!"

Will objected immediately. "She's not what they're after."

Elizabeth grabbed for her neck. "The medallion!"

Will left quickly in the direction of the hold. _What medallion are they talking about? _Then I knew exactly what they meant.

When no one was looking, I felt around my neck and then took a deep breath. _Good. It's still there, _I thought. _They must have another one just like it_.

I looked up and saw a pirate running towards me, sword raised. I pulled the sword out from my belt and defended myself. I was doing pretty well for a beginner. After a short minute, I ran him through. Smiling, I walked backward, making sure he was dead. The smile on my face disappeared when he got back up as if I hadn't stabbed him. I backed away from him as he got closer, until he was suddenly knocked down by Jack.

"Jack!" Gibbs and I exclaimed.

Jack pulled out a small pouch hanging from his sash and handed it to Gibbs. "Bloody empty!" he pointed out.

He then helped Elizabeth get out of a sticky situation, and pulled the both of us out of harm's way. He looked at us and asked, "Where's the medallion?"

Elizabeth raised her hand to slap him as she said, "Wretch!"

He caught her hand. That's when I noticed that she had a piece of cloth wrapped around her hand. Jack seemed to notice it, too.

"Ahh. Where is dear William?" he asked.

Elizabeth looked back towards the hold. "Will." She got up and ran off in that direction.

I looked back towards Jack, who in turn looked towards me. He was very close to me. For a moment, time stood still.

_This is your chance to tell him off_, I thought to myself. _This is your chance to tell him how you feel about..._

My mind drifted back to the present situation. I opened my mouth to tell him what I needed to say, but I stopped. I didn't think this was a good time or place to talk about it. Not now.

Jack became aware of something behind me, because the next thug he said was "Monkey!"

As he ran off, I looked around to see what he was talking about. There, sitting on the fallen mast, was a monkey holding a medallion in its hand. _That must be what Will went looking for!_

All of a sudden, rough hands grabbed a hold of me.

xxx

"If any of you as much as thinks the word 'parley', I'll have your guts for garters," a short, partially bald pirate shouted.

Elizabeth, Jack's crew, and I were tied to the main mast of the _Black Pearl_. Will was still aboard the now sinking _Interceptor_. Elizabeth and I were small enough to escape our bonds.

We made our way towards the rail. I was grabbed by one of the crew members before I made it over there. He was tall, skinny, and had a wooden eye. Elizabeth stopped dead in her tracks. The _Interceptor_just blew up.

"No!" I exclaimed.

Elizabeth attacked a man that was standing next to the rail, watching the explosion. He grabbed a hold of her and pulled her away from him.

"Welcome back, Miss!" he rasped. "You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now you return the favor."

He threw her into a group of his crew. She began screaming. I looked around and noticed that Jack was being held back by some mean look pirates. _Probably this guy's favorites_.

Then I looked towards the man who had pushed Elizabeth into the crowd of crew members.

He was maybe a little taller than Jack. He wore a wide brimmed hat with a feather, which were black. He wore a dark green vest under a black coat with black trousers and black boots. He had short, dirty-blonde hair and a scraggly beard.

"Barbossa," I whispered.

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><p>AN: Duh, duh, duh! Sorry guys. Couldn't help it. :D


	6. Rumrunner's Island

Author's Note: Thank you to those of you who are leaving reviews, adding this to your favorites, and subscribing to the story. It makes me happy knowing that you guys are enjoying this.

Well, this chapter is pretty long. I tried to make up for the fact that I couldn't remember how some of the lines on the deleted scenes from the island went. But the good news is that Jessabelle and Jack get more time together! Yay!

So, only a few more chapters, guys, and then _Curse of the Black Pearl_ will be complete. I hope you guys will stick with me until the end.

Enjoy chapter five, and please leave some reviews. I love hearing what you guys have to say!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, even though I wish I did. I own only the OC's Jessabelle, Stephany, and Jason.

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><p><strong>Chapter Five: Rumrunner's Island<strong>

"Barbossa!" Will shouted.

He stood on the rail, drenched in seawater. _He's alive!_ I thought.

He jumped off the rail, grabbed Jack's pistol, cocked it, and aimed it at Barbossa. "She goes free."

"What's in yer head, boy?" Barbossa demanded.

"She goes free," Will repeated.

Barbossa was now directly in front of Will. "You've only got one shot, and we can't die," he pointed out.

_No kidding!_ I thought.

"Please don't do anything stupid," I heard Jack whisper towards Will.

"You can't," Will began. He jumped back on the rail and pointed the pistol towards the underneath of his chin. "But I can."

Both Elizabeth and I moved in objection.

"Like that," Jack said.

"Who are you?" Barbossa asked.

Jack moved towards Barbossa, covering up Will's identity. "He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though. Eunuch!"

_Wait, he's trying to stop Will?_ I was shocked at what Jack said. _Doesn't sound like he's trying to use anyone to me._

But Will gave away his true identity. "My name is William Turner! My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner! His blood runs in my veins!" Jack walked away from Barbossa and stood next to the pirates that were holding him captive.

The pirate holding me back spoke out. "He's a spittin' image of ol' Bootstrap Bill come back to haunt us!"

"On my word, do as I say!" Will continued. "Or I'll pull this trigger, and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker!"

"Name yer terms, Mister Turner," Barbossa prompted.

"Elizabeth goes free!" Will said once again.

_What!_ I thought.

"Yes, we know that one. Anything else?"

"Jessabelle goes free as well. And the crew…the crew are not to be harmed."

_That's more like it._

Jack pointed furiously towards himself. Will ignored him.

Smiling, Barbossa said, "Agreed."

xxx

I did not see this coming. Neither did Elizabeth.

I was standing on the plank, looking down at the water. In the distance was a small island. I tried to back away, but I was met by the ends of swords.

Will, with his hands tied behind his back, pushed through the crowd of the _Pearl_'s crew.

"Barbossa, you lying bastard!" he exclaimed. "You swore they'd go free!"

_He's mad! Beyond mad. He's pissed,_ was the only thing that I was thinking.

Barbossa turned to him. "Don't dare impugn me honor, boy! I agreed they'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where."

_Man, he's good!_ I thought. _Will never did mention those terms_. Barbossa's men gagged him.

He then turned to me. I looked at him, then at Will. I then looked at Jack. I wished that he would say something. I noticed that Barbossa's men hand tied his hands in front of him. I felt a tear fall down my cheek.

My hand went automatically to my necklace. I didn't take it out, but I couldn't help but hold on to it. Barbossa gave me a puzzling look. I quickly looked back towards the island.

I must have been standing there longer than the pirates would have liked because I felt the plank shake. This caused me to lose my balance, and I fell into the water. When I resurfaced, I could hear the crew shout. Elizabeth was next. She had been wearing a maroon colored gown. She was taking it off, leaving on only an off white dress. She threw the gown at Barbossa. I swam away from the landing zone, not wanting to get dragged down under the water. A minute later, Elizabeth was plummeting towards the water and swimming towards me. Even with that dress on, she was a pretty fast swimmer.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yes," she replied. "Are you?"

We continued to swim. "Yeah," I sputtered. "Sorry I never got to introduce myself properly. And I'm sorry it couldn't be on a happier note. I'm Jessabelle, Will's sister."

Elizabeth nodded. "Elizabeth Swann. Will never mentioned you."

I then saw Jack nose dive into the water. We continued to swim on.

"Well," I began. "About eight years ago, we got separated when the ship we were sailing on was caught in cannon fire. I sort of…disappeared. I guess he didn't think I survived the wreckage, so that's probably why he never mentioned it."

"Oh."

We finally made it to the island, with Jack close behind. He had gotten out of his bonds, and was now throwing the rope aside. He turned around and watched the _Black Pearl_ sail away. Elizabeth and I were, too.

"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship," Jack stated.

Elizabeth walked off, and Jack walked onto a dryer part of the shoreline.

I walked over to where Jack was standing, and sat down in the sand. I watched him as he took off his boots, vest, and other effects. He sat his pistol and sword on the ground and then went into the forest behind us.

_What on earth is he doing?_I wondered.

A few minutes later, he came back with some wood. He put the sticks together and with the rope that was used to tie his hands together, tied them into a sort of teepee structure. It kind of reminded me of Eeyore's house from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, a movie I watched constantly when I was growing up.

He put his vest and some of his other effects, like the belt he put his sword in, across his makeshift laundry line. He then sat down and started to empty the pistol.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Making sure that the one shot I do have stays dry," was his only reply.

"Oh."

I looked back over to the water. I noticed something black floating onto the shore. I got up and walked over to grab it.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

I picked it up. "It's my bag! It must have drifted over here by the current after the _Interceptor _exploded. I'm surprised it survived."

I walked back over to where I had been sitting. I sat down and opened my bag. Everything inside was dry, including my clothes that I had been wearing a couple of days ago.

I looked down at the outfit I was currently wearing. I was soaking wet. I grabbed my shirt, pants, socks, and tennis shoes, and started to walk over to the forest to go change. As I was walking, I noticed that Jack was watching me. About halfway there, I turned and looked back towards him. He turned back towards his pistol, pretending he wasn't watching. I smiled, knowing better. I continued walking.

I found a nice hiding spot where I could change and no one would see me. As I was changing, I saw that Jack was looking at my bag with some interest. At first I thought he would try to take something, but then I remembered something.

_No one's seen anything like those before_, I thought. _iPods and cell phones don't exist here yet._

I was about to put my socks and shoes on, but decided against when I felt the sand between my toes. With my dry clothes on, I grabbed the wet ones and walked back towards the shore.

When I got back to my spot in the sand, Jack was messing with his pistol.

"Is it alright if I put my clothes next to yours so they can dry?" I asked. I wasn't going to just assume I could.

"Aye," was all he said. _At least he said I could_, I thought. I lined my clothes up next to his and set my boots next to his. Then I sat back down in my spot, pulled out my sketchbook, and started to draw. It felt like it had been so long since I had been able to draw anything. _Now for a subject_, I thought.

I looked at Jack, who was still working on his pistol. I instantly began to sketch out his features. The way the sun shone off his hair; the way he was concentrating on the pistol; the pistol itself. I didn't want to miss a single thing, and I most definitely didn't want to mess up either. Jack moved a little when he grabbed for a stick. I hated him for it.

"Stop moving!" I said.

"What for?" Jack asked.

"I'm trying to draw you. And if you keep moving, I'll mess up. That's the last thing I want to do."

"Ah." He went back to his original position.

"Thank you." I continued to draw.

He just sat there for a moment, watching me drawing him. "So, an artist, are you?" he asked me.

"Well, sort of." I looked up at him, making sure that I was drawing his nose and eyes the correct way, making sure that they were proportional. It was those eyes of his that always stopped me. Always mesmerizingly beautiful. I continued. "I'm currently trying to get my degree as an Art Major."

"Degree?"

"Right, I forgot. Where I'm from, in the future, after you graduate high school, you go to college to learn all about the job you want to go into. In my case, I just want to be able to paint, draw, sketch, anything to do with art. That's what I see myself doing for the rest of my life—creating a masterpiece and selling it for profit. I want the world to be able to enjoy all of the same things I see. All of the things that I believe are beautiful."

"Ah, I see." Jack replied. "So this is something you are really passionate about then, eh, love?"

"Yes," I said. "My art pieces are...well...my _Pearl_. I love them with all my soul."

Jack smiled. "That's a fine thing, and it certainly is a fine goal, to be sure."

"Of course. Now, hold still." I went back to drawing the pirate captain.

Jack chuckled. "What?" I asked him.

"You're definitely persistent, love. I'll give ya that. And this is a first for me."

"How come?"

"Never had a portrait of meself done before."

I smiled, and then continued to draw.

The next time I looked up, Elizabeth had joined us.

xxx

"But you were marooned on this island before, weren't you?" Elizabeth questioned. "So we can escape the same way you did then!"

"To what point and purpose, young missy?" Jack asked. "The _Black Pearl_is gone. Unless either of you have a lot of rudder and sail hidden in those bodices of yours, which is unlikely." Jack looked Elizabeth and I up and down as he said this. "Young Turner will be dead long before either of you can reach him."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. _I just got my brother back, and he's going to die?_ I thought. _This can't be happening!  
><em>  
>"But you're Captain Jack Sparrow!" Elizabeth pointed out. "You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Company. You sacked Nassau Port without firing a shot. Are you the pirate I've read about or not?"<p>

She paused, allowing time for her to take a deep breath and for Jack to answer her. When she didn't, she continued. "How did you escape last time?"

"Last time," Jack began. "I was here for a grand total of three days, alright?" He opened a hidden hatch that lead to a secret cellar. "Last time, the rumrunners used this island as a cache. Came by, and I was able to barter a passage off. From the looks of things, they've long been out of business. Probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that." He climbed out of the cellar with two bottles of rum.

_Who's Norrington?_I wondered.

"So that's it then? That's the secret grand adventure of the infamous Jack Sparrow?" Elizabeth seemed to be disappointed. "You spent three days lying on a beach drinking rum?"

Jack looked at her, looked at me, and then back at Elizabeth. "Welcome to the Caribbean, loves!" He walked off, handing Elizabeth one of the bottles of rum. I quickly followed.

"What did you mean by 'dead'?" I asked Jack as soon as we were out of Elizabeth's hearing range.

He popped the topper off of the bottle, and took a swig of rum. "What do you know about that medallion you had?"

I stopped in my tracks. "Not much." I continued to follow him to where we had been sitting earlier. "Why do you ask?"

"Those medallions are from none other than the chest of Hernán Cortéz himself. Cursed Aztec gold, as it were."

He sat down, and took another drink. My hand went immediately to the pirate medallion that was still hanging around my neck. I pulled it out to study it. What I thought was once beautiful, I now believed to be deadly.

Jack looked up at me, watching me studying it, as I said, "There were 882 identical pieces that were put in a stone chest handed down to Cortéz himself." I was practically reciting what Signore Caesre had taught us about pirate legends. "Because Cortéz's greed was insatiable, the Aztec gods placed a curse on the treasure. Any mortal who places a hand on a single piece of that treasure would be punished for all eternity."

"How do you know that?" Jack asked me.

"My mentor, Signore Caesre," I said, looking Jack firmly in the eyes. "Uh...he told me and my friends about pirate legends. He said the one about the Aztec gold was just a ghost story."

I looked down at the medallion again. "Why would my father send this to me?" I looked at Jack again. "You still didn't answer me. What did you mean by 'dead'?"

For the first time since I met the captain, I saw a worried expression on his face. "Jack?" I asked him. I was now starting to get worried.

With a deep sigh, he said, "Darlin', it's unfortunate that I have to say this, but in order for the curse to be lifted, blood money must be paid by those who hold any piece of that treasure."

My eyes widened. Jack took a long swig of rum.

I quickly stood up. Tears were beginning to form in my eyes, and I was shaking my head furiously. "No...no. No, this can't be happening! I just got him back and you're telling me...?"

I couldn't handle what he was telling me. _Why hadn't anyone told me before?_I wondered. "First, I lost my father and brother," I continued. "I finally found Will. I finally found my family, and now...now they're gone." I couldn't hold it in any longer. I let it all out.

Jack stood up and then moved towards me. I backed away from him. "You knew, didn't you? You knew and you didn't say anything to me?"

Jack acted as though he was going to say something, but stopped himself. It was as though he wanted me to finish.

"I mean, I trusted you. And all this time...I mean, Will told me that you were only using him as leverage, but now that I know...I can't..." I couldn't stop myself from crying now. I didn't notice that Jack was now closer to me. I felt his hand grab a hold of me and pull me towards him.

_He's actually comforting me?_I wondered. I hadn't really taken him for someone who cared about other's problems. Or as someone who cared about anyone else at all.

I'm couldn't help but lay my head against his chest. I was still crying, so I left tear stains on his shirt. I could smell rum and seawater. I thought it was nice, with the exception of the lingering odor of perspiration. I wasn't mad at him anymore.

_Why am I not mad?_ I wondered. _After all that he's done, why am I not mad at him?_

Jack started to rub my back. I could feel the chills running through me. My breathing grew slightly heavier.

I pulled away from him, and rubbed my eyes. "I—I'm sorry," I said. "I—I couldn't…"

"No, love," Jack said. "My apologies. I should have told you."

I was surprised by what he said. I may not have known him for very long, but I never expected that to come from him.

I dried my eyes again. "I'm gonna go for a walk."

I started to walk away, but I felt something holding me back. I looked down to see that Jack had a hold of my hand. Surprisingly, his hand was really soft. I held it for a bit longer, and then looked at him. _Those eyes_, I thought. _They always draw me in, leaving me breathless_.

I finally tore my eyes away, let go of his hand, and walked towards my bag. I pulled my iPod out, put my headphones on, and began walking in the direction of the secret cellar, my head swimming with questions. I was beginning to doubt myself.

_Why can't I stay mad at him for long?_ I wondered. _He's done so many terrible things. Yet, I can't be mad at him._

I opened the hatch and walked down into the cellar. I found a small bottle that was full of rum, grabbed it, walked out, and closed the cellar hatch.

_I can't seem to get him out of my mind_.

I pulled the stopper of the bottle and took a drink of rum. _This _is _good, _I thought.

I walked back towards my spot on the beach. I saw that Jack and Elizabeth were having a conversation of sorts, but I didn't hear what they were saying. My music was turned up loud enough that I couldn't hear them (my iPod was currently playing Epiphany by Staind), and I was deep in my thoughts. I continued to drink from the bottle of rum.

I could only ask myself why. _Why do I feel this way?_ Then it suddenly hit me. I had an epiphany.

_I love him_.


	7. To the Cave!

Author's Note: For me, this chapter was really fun to write, just because of how I interpreted high society. But for the most part, this chapter pretty much wrote itself.

So, enjoy guys! It's pretty long, but for me usually, the longer the better. Don't forget to review, and please, NO FLAMES! Again, I laugh at them.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six: To the Cave!<strong>

I woke up to the smell of smoke.

I sat up quickly, just as Jack was walking off.

_What the—?  
><em>  
>I looked to my right and noticed that the small grove of palm trees that surrounded the secret cellar were being burned. Not too far from the enormous bonfire was Elizabeth, sitting on the beach.<p>

_That smokestack is probably high enough that someone's bound to notice it,_ I thought. I looked at Elizabeth. _Pretty and smart_.

I got up and began to pack up some of my things. I looked over to where my pirate outfit was hanging. I then looked down at my normal skinny jeans and T-shirt.

_How am I going to explain this to whoever decides to rescue us?_ I wondered. _They aren't used to seeing these kinds of clothes. Nor my tennis shoes._

I quickly grabbed the clothes Jack had given me and changed in the forest that wasn't currently on fire. When I was done, I put my normal street clothes into my bag. Then I realized I wasn't going to be able to explain my bag either. I ran over to where Elizabeth was sitting.

"Hey, you didn't by chance happen to burn any cloth or anything for the signal fire, did you?" I asked her.

"No," she said. "Why?"

"I need to make something. Where did you put it?"

She pointed to a small pile of cloth that could have just as well blended in with the sand. I picked it up and shook the sand off it.

"Perfect!" I exclaimed. "Thanks!"

I ran back to my bag, pulled out my scissors, needle and thread, and began to make a bag for my bag. I always had these items in my bag, just in case. Elizabeth had followed, and sat down next to me.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Making a bag for my bag. That way, when we get rescued, nobody will be asking me questions about where I came from or anything like that."

"Oh. Will told me you were different. He never mentioned how different."

I looked up at her. "So, he did mention me. Hmm, must have wanted to make sure that you knew he wasn't into anyone else."

"What?" she asked. She had a puzzled expression on her face.

"Never mind." I continued with my work. I had already cut the cloth to be just big enough to cover the bag, and was now starting to cut out the cloth to make a strap.

"He likes you, ya know," I mentioned to her.

"Who?" Elizabeth asked.

"Will. He didn't necessarily say so, but I could tell by the way he talked about you. And the way he kept repeating 'She goes free'."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Well, I guess more that like really. He really cares about you." I was just about done with the bag.

"You're really impressive with a needle," Elizabeth pointed out.

I smiled. "Thanks. Been sewing since I was about thirteen. That was after I had been adopted by my friend's family. And I've been living with them for roughly eight years now."

"That was when...never mind."

"What?" I was curious now.

"You see, on the crossing from England, we found Will floating a little ways off on a piece of wood. We didn't notice that he had been on a ship until after we brought him on board." She paused, allowing it to sink in. "The ship he was on had been attacked by pirates. He was wearing the medallion and, fearing that he was a pirate, I took the medallion from him and hid it from the officers."

I looked at her as though I had been hit upside the head.

"I do remember that he mentioned your name."

"We were attacked by pirates?"

She nodded. "As we were sailing away from the wreckage, I saw a ship sailing away. It had black sails, and I saw the pirate flag myself."

_Ship with black sails_, I thought. Then it dawned on me. "Barbossa was the one who attacked us. He was looking for the medallions!"

"Medallions?" Elizabeth questioned. "There was more than one?"

I nodded, and pulled out my pirate medallion. "Our father sent us two of them. One for me, and one for Will."

We were silent for a moment. I sat there and finished the final stitches that were needed, and examined my work. It looked enough like it was from that period in time. I put my needle, thread, and scissors away, and then put my bag in the cloth bag. I fit in more than I did when I first arrived.

I turned back towards Elizabeth. "What did Will tell you about me?"

"Not much," she said. "Just that you were a bit different than the rest of us."

I took a deep breath. "Did he at least mention the whole 'nowhere to be found' thing?"

"Yes."

"Well there is a reason that I've been nowhere to be found for the past eight years," I paused, and took another deep breath. "I feel that I can trust you with the truth. Will, Jack, and Gibbs know about this. And it needs to stay between the five of us, understood?" I added in the last part as emphasis so she would know that it was important.

"I promise," Elizabeth said. "You can trust me."

"Well, and it's because of Will that I can trust you, too, so remember that as well. For the past eight years, I have been living in Florida from the years 2003-2011."

"You mean...the future?" She looked at me in disbelief.

To prove it, I took out the clothes I wore on my birthday when I arrived and was wearing yesterday, my iPod, and my cell phone.

"What are these? And how did that happen?"

I told her everything.

xxx

"I promise not to tell anyone," Elizabeth reassured me.

"Thank you. I still don't understand how it works, so don't ask me."

"Don't worry, I won't."

I smiled. I really felt that I could trust her. We looked out towards the horizon and saw that a longboat was rowing toward the island. While Elizabeth and I were talking, a Royal Navy ship spotted the signal and turned to come get us.

The longboat was almost to the island when Jack joined us. He was dressed back up in his vest, boots, and effects.

"Well, this is bloody great!" he said sarcastically.

xxx

"But we've got to save Will!" Elizabeth explained to her father. I learned his name was Weatherby Swann, and that he was the Governor of Port Royal.

"No," Governor Swann objected. "You're safe now. We will return to Port Royal immediately, not go gallivanting after pirates!"

"Then we condemn him to death!" I argued.

"And who are you?" he asked me.

"I'm Jessabelle Turner. Mr. Turner's sister."

The governor sighed. "I'm sorry. The boy's fate is regrettable, but then so was decision to engage in piracy."

Elizabeth argued that point before I could. "To rescue me. To prevent anything from happening to me!"

"If I may be so bold as to inject my professional opinion," Jack interjected. "The _Pearl_was listing near to scuppers after the battle, it's very unlikely she'll be able to make good time." He was standing really close to the man who he was talking to, who looked to be a high standing officer.

"Think about it," he continued. "The _Black Pearl_. The last _real_pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up, eh?"

"By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself," the officer replied.

He walked up the steps of the stairs we were near. Elizabeth followed behind him quickly, but stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

"Commodore, I beg you, please do this. For me...as a wedding gift." She quickly added.

The governor seemed to be delighted to hear this. The Commodore did as well.

"Elizabeth, are you accepting the Commodore's proposal?" Governor Swann asked.

"I am." She sounded emotionless.

_She's lying_, I thought.

"A wedding," Jack said. "I love weddings! Drinks all around!"

The Commodore gave Jack a look that could kill. Jack extended his arms and said, "I know, 'Clap him in irons' right?"

The Commodore hesitated for a moment. It looked as though he were considering that. After a moment longer, he said "Mr. Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with the bearing to Isla de Muerta." He pointed to the two men standing behind Jack—one was skinnier than the other, and each looked equally unintelligent.

"You will then spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave'." he continued. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Inescapably clear," was Jack's answer.

The two men behind Jack grabbed him roughly by the arms and led him up the stairs.

I noticed the Commodore lead Elizabeth towards the port-side rail, so I decided to head in the opposite direction. I walked to the middle of the starboard-side rail, and looked out into the wide open ocean. There wasn't a cloud in sight, and not another ship to be seen. The sun was at its highest point, so I knew it was around noon. My stomach growled.

_Sheesh_, I thought. _I'm so hungry!_

I remembered that I had a pack of gummies in my bag, so I reached for them. I stopped myself, remembering that I wasn't in 2011. My stomach growled again, and I grabbed at it, hoping that it would stop.

"You look as though you've been absolutely starved."

I jumped a little. I didn't see Governor Swann walk up next to me. _Do I really look that bad?_I wondered.

"It feels as though I haven't eaten in days," I said.

"Ah. Well, I'm sure we can accommodate that hunger. Would you care to join Elizabeth, the Commodore, and I to luncheon?" he offered.

"I'd love to," I said. I looked down at my clothes and added, "But I haven't anything more suitable to wear."

"Not to worry, then. I suppose that will just have to do." He looked me up and down, as if to scrutinize. "Please meet us in my cabin in precisely fifteen minutes."

"Thank you, Governor!" I exclaimed. I was starving.

"We'll see you there. The cabin is right there." He pointed to a pair of double glass doors.

"I will be there."

As soon as he walked off, I asked one of the sailors for a bucket so that I could pull up some water, and a pan to warm the water up. When I had the bucket full of seawater, I took it into the hold and built a small fire (there was some sand that was still in my makeshift bag so that I wouldn't burn the ship down). While the water was boiling, I made sure that no one was looking and pulled out my deodorant and my brush. When the water was done, I poured some water from a water bottle that was in my bag to cool off the now clean water, and washed my face. I washed my hands and brushed my teeth as quickly as I could. When I was done, I put all of my things away and hid my bag somewhere I would remember. Then, I headed to the Governor's cabin.

xxx

"Ah, Miss Turner," the Governor said. "Thank you for coming. Might I say you clean up nicely."

I curtsied a little. "Thank you, Governor, I think," I said. "The pleasure's all mine," _Seriously, did I really look that bad?_ I wondered.

"Please sit. We were just about to be served." He indicated to a seat between Elizabeth and himself.

I took my seat. I noticed that Elizabeth had changed. She was now wearing a red coat, white, loose long sleeve shirt, white trousers, white stockings, and black buckled shoes. She had pulled her hair back into a braid.

_Why didn't I think of that?_ I wondered, looking at my hair. It felt as though it was a little poofy.

"Jessabelle," Elizabeth began. "This is James Norrington. He was on the same ship as my father and I when we found Will."

"Then it's a pleasure to meet you, sir," I nodded. _That's who Norrington is_, I thought.

"The pleasure is all mine," he said.

"He helped to rescue Will that day," Elizabeth added, after taking a drink of wine. Our food had arrived by now. I took a sip of the wine, and never touched it again. I asked for water from one of the officers serving us, and then took a bite of the soup, which was delicious.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Norrington took a piece of bread and dipped it into his soup.

"Well, then, I suppose it is you who I should be thanking for giving my brother back to me," I said. I took a drink of water, and then a bite of bread with cheese. "And now, you're doing it again."

_Pffft_, I thought. _Time travel brought me back to my brother. Boy do I love playing high society!_

"Honestly," Governor Swann, interjecting. "We had no idea that Turner even had any family besides his father. He only mentioned a father anyway."

"Will and I were separated after our ship was attacked," I explained. "I had drifted off in a longboat that some of the sailors had put me in to keep safe before I was picked up by another merchant ship that was headed for England. I was taken in by one of the merchants and raised there. When I was deemed old enough, he took me on one of his voyages, which was on its way back to the Caribbean. We were attacked by the _Black Pearl_, and I was taken captive." I paused so that I could take a few bites of soup, bread, and cheese. I went ahead and put a handful of grapes on my plate.

"For the past few months," I continued. "I had been in the brig of the _Pearl_, with limited quantities of food or water. Thanks to Will, I was able to get out of that wretched ship and see the light of day." _And Jack helped, too_, I thought. _Can't forget about him._

"You poor thing!" the Governor exclaimed. "I suppose it's a good thing that we saw the signal fire, or you would have starved on that island."

"I suppose so," I said. "So, thank you, gentlemen, very much."

It was a well-planned lie, one of my own concoctions. I was the playwright, and these were the fools who had come to see my masterpiece as it unfolded. _Suckers_, I thought. _Why is it that people like this are so easy to fool? And why is it that they are so gullible?_

We continued the luncheon by the Commodore and Governor Swann asking Elizabeth about her experiences. She never told them what I had told her. She never told them the truth about where I really had come from, what really had brought me here. Her story about how we met coincided with my story.

Convinced that I had eaten enough to cover for the four meals I had missed, I politely excused myself, and headed out of the cabin. As I walked out, I overheard Governor Swann say, "For only being a merchant's daughter, she could easily blend in with the high society. I wouldn't mind seeing her again."

"Nor I, Governor," Norrington agreed.

I closed the door all the way behind me, and walked off, rolling my eyes. _That's enough of high society for me thank you!_

xxx

"Excuse me, but do you know where Mr. Sparrow is being held?" I asked a gentleman by the name of Gillette, seeing as how Jack was no longer anywhere near the helm.

"Yes, miss," he said politely. "He is currently in the hold, where he is to remain until we reach Isla de Muerta."

_Perfect!_ I thought. _That's exactly where I wanted to spend the rest of the voyage anyway_. "Thank you, sir."

I quickly walked down into the hold and wandered around trying to find him. _Well, this is a perfect place to keep him quiet, I suppose_, I thought, remembering what Norrington had said earlier today.

I finally found Jack, who was sitting some barrels. "May I join you?" I asked.

"By all means, love." Jack smiled, and patted to a seat next to him. I sat down on his right.

"I figured you could use some company. It is kinda boring down here."

"Ah. Well, that is very kind of you. And how was that high-toned luncheon ye attended?" he asked.

"How did you know about—. Oh, never mind. Norrington or some other officer probably mentioned it."

He simply smiled. I continued. "Boring. They wanted to know all about me and what not. I'm sorry, but I'm none too comfortable about talking about myself, least of all making it all about me. Oh, I brought you something."

I stood up and pulled out a piece of bread and some cheese out of my pockets.

"How did you—?"

"I snuck 'em into my pockets whenever I pretended to be excited about something they said, or whenever they weren't looking." I smiled and added, "What can I say? I'm a ninja!"

He chuckled and took the bread and cheese. "Pirate," he said. "Thank you, darlin'."

"You're welcome. Oh, I almost forgot!" I walked over to my hiding place and grabbed my water bottle. I handed it to Jack. "Here, you go. It's not exactly rum, but it should help you get that bread and cheese down."

He took it graciously.

I sat back down next to him and leaned my head on his shoulder. He paused a moment, and then continued to eat.

"Thank you," I said.

"What for?" he asked. He took a drink of the water, jumping a bit when the bottle made a crinkling sound.

I giggled a little. "For speaking up when you did. I know you probably had your own reasons for doing so, like going after Barbossa and getting the _Pearl_back, but still. We are going to save Will."

"Oh, well, you're welcome then." He finished his food and then took another drink. This time, he made sure not to hold onto the bottle too tightly this time.

I giggled again. "What are you laughing at?" Jack asked.

"I just think that it's funny that the future really isn't that much different from the past."

"How so?"

"Well, for example, here there's cannons, muskets, and bombs. Three hundred years from now, there's machine guns, bombs, airplanes, helicopters, cars, speed boats, cell phones, and music players. Both time periods are equally annoying when it comes to noise level. Sometimes it's just nice to be somewhere where it's nice and quiet."

"Ah. I think I know exactly what you mean, love."

I felt Jack's hand touch my back and reach around to where it was on top of my waist. He pulled me closer to him.

"Really?" I asked. I pretended not to notice what he was doing, but I did.

"Yes," Jack began. "Take the _Black Pearl_, for example. Well, before Barbossa stole it."

"Okay. What about it?" I asked.

"Well, at night sometimes, I'd like to just stand there at the helm and just look up at the evening sky, listening to the sound of the wind and the _Pearl_cutting through the waves."

"That sounds very peaceful." _He sure does love the _Pearl, I thought. _Then again, he is a pirate, and they love their freedom_.

We sat there for a moment, not saying a word. We just sat there. I could hear the sounds of the waves hitting the sides of the ship as it was sailing on. I could hear the occasional seagull flying overhead. I closed my eyes and pictured myself standing on the deck of the _Black Pearl_(how I pictured it without Barbossa on board anyway) just lying on the deck, listening to the sounds of the sea and looking up at the stars. And lying beside me was Jack, his hand holding mine.

"I love you, Jack." I couldn't help saying. The words rolled off my tongue effortlessly.

_Did I just say that out loud?_ I wondered. _Did he hear me say that?_

"What?" Jack asked.

_Uh oh_, I thought. _He did_.

"Uh, nothing," I said. "Never mind."

I sat up, and got up. "Well, I'm going to go up and...uh...see how far we've got to go...and...um...get some fresh air. See ya later!"

I walked away as fast as I could, leaving Jack to wonder what I had said. I looked back for a split second and saw that he was smiling.

I avoided the hold as much as possible for the rest of the day and well into the next day. After my slip up, I didn't want to mess things up with Jack. But I feared the worst.

_Smooth move, X-lax._

xxx

It was around half an hour after nightfall before we reached Isla de Muerta.

I stood at the railing. I was rather mad at the fact that I couldn't go with Jack, Norrington, and his men to go into the cave to get Will. But I had a plan.

_I'm not getting left behind again_, I thought. _Sucks to be a woman in the 1700's_.

Jack was standing a few feet from me while he was waiting his orders from Norrington. While his men were getting everything ready for their departure (I mean honestly, how long does that take?), Elizabeth joined us. She stood in between us.

_Thank God!_ I thought. _I had said a thing to Jack since yesterday._

"You didn't tell him about the curse," she told Jack.

"I noticed neither did you. Probably for the same reason I imagine."

"He wouldn't have risked it."

_No kidding_, I thought.

"You could have gotten him drunk," Jack pointed out. Elizabeth turned her head towards him quickly.

"Don't get me wrong, love. I admire a person who does whatever is necessary."

"You're a smart man, Jack. I just don't entirely trust you."

Jack walked up to her and whispered something in her ear. I couldn't hear what he said, and I probably didn't want to know.

Norrington broke it up by throwing Jack's compass to him and saying, "With me, Sparrow."

Jack walked off, with Norrington following.

No one noticed that I had slipped by Norrington as he gave Jack back the compass. I headed towards the helm, where one of the officers happened to be looking around. I snuck behind him so that he wouldn't see me, knocked him out, and dragged him somewhere where no one would see him. I high-jacked his coat, musket, and tricorn hat, and put them on. Before I put the hat on, I put two curlers in my hair in the front and pulled my hair back so that I looked like one of the younger officers. I put the hat on and headed out of the hold.

I got back up just in time to get into the same longboat as Jack and Norrington. No one noticed that I had snuck off of the ship, or into the longboat. I saw the island getting closer and closer.

_Almost there,_ I thought. _Will, hang in there!_

* * *

><p>AN: Heh. Jessabelle just reminded me of Assassin's Creed whenevr you have to do a "disguise yourself" missions. Ah, good times!


	8. One Last Shot

Author's Note: Chapter seven! Whoo hoo! The big battle is here! There's probably going to be one more chapter and then this story will be complete. Thanks to those of you who have been reviewing, favorite-ing, and have subscribed to the story. I appreciated it guys!

Since this is the second to last chapter, I am posting a poll as of…right now. **Do you think I should continue the story on after the last Curse of the Black Pearl chapter (include the other three films) or should I leave it as is and make separate stories for the others (one for Dead Man's Chest, etc.)?** Let me know what you think by pressing that Review button below and leave a comment. Know that if I do continue on, I will have to edit the title of the fanfic, in which I would personally PM each and every one of you and inform you of the new title.

For now, enjoy the chapter guys. If you leave a review, NO FLAMES!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: One Last Shot<strong>

"I don't care for the situation," Norrington said. "Any attempt to storm the cave could turn into an ambush."

Jack objected by saying, "Not if you're the one doing the ambushing."

I sat up a bit so that I could listen to what they were saying, but kept the tricorn over my eyes so no one would be able to identify myself as being a girl.

"I go in, convince Barbossa to send his men out in their little boats. You and your men return to the _Dauntless _and blast the bejesus out of them with your little cannons, eh?" Jack put his arm on Norrington's shoulder. "What do you have to lose?"

Norrington brushed Jack's arm off with his pistol. "Nothing I'd lament being rid of."

I rolled my eyes beneath the tricorn hat. _Geez_, I thought. _Talk about harsh_.

"Now," Jack continued. "To be quite honest with you, there's a slight risk for those aboard the _Dauntless _which includes the future Mrs. Commodore."

I couldn't necessarily see the Commodore's expressions, but I could imagine they were none too pleasant.

Norrington turned to one of the men next to me and said, "Signal two of the longboats to row over here, and we can empty one of them out between the other two. Then row over to the _Dauntless _and inform Gillette that Miss Swann must remain somewhere safe."

The officer nodded, and quickly did so. Two longboats began rowing towards us.

"Alright, Sparrow." Norrington now turned to face Jack. "I'll grant you permission to use one of the longboats to enter the cave and draw them out. Don't think of this as any act of pardon. You are to negotiate Turner's release and the pirates' retreat out of the cave. Do I make myself clear?"

"Oh yes," was Jack's response.

The boats were here, and half of the officers began to pile into our boat while the other half piled into the other one. Jack began to climb aboard the now empty longboat, but not before I spoke up.

"But Commodore," I said in as deep a voice as I could. "Shouldn't someone go with Sparrow to make sure he does as you had just ordered?"

Jack gave me a disgusted look. Norrington looked thoughtful. "I agree," he finally said. "What's your name, sailor?"

"Shunpike," I said quickly. "Stan Shunpike, sir." It was the only name I could come up with in that second. _Forgive me, J. K. Rowling!_

"Well, Shunpike," Norrington continued. "Since you were the first to suggest it, would you care to escort Sparrow?"

"Yes, sir," I said, trying to show some enthusiasm.

"Very well. Be on your way, then."

I climbed into the boat with Jack, who began rowing in the direction of the cave entrance.

It had been maybe ten minutes before we started talking to each other.

"Do you think they can see us anymore?" I asked, still using my best version of a male voice.

"No," Jack replied. "Not bloody likely!"

"Oh, it's about bloody time!" I put down the musket and took off the hat and coat.

"Jessabelle?"

"Surprise!" I exclaimed.

"What are you doing here?"

"Same as you," I said. "Going in to negotiate. And trust me, I was not going to be left behind again."

Jack smiled at little. "You're one for adventure and danger, are you not?"

"Of course I am! I'm always constantly watching Action/Adventure films, dreaming that one day I would be able to live a great adventure."

"Film?"

"Never mind," I said. "I just can't believe that they fell for my disguise! They are either that gullible or they are that stupid. Maybe I should be an actress."

"I'm sure you'd make a fine one," Jack pointed out. He chuckled, and then his expression turned more serious. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you here? You should have stayed aboard the ship."

"Oh, please. You and I both know that they'll over run the ship somehow and will be attacking it. I'm no safer there than I am in here. Plus, I also have this."

I pulled the medallion out from under my shirt. "You are gonna need this if you want to get rid of Barbossa." I put back in my shirt. I became more serious. "I want to help. He's the only family I've got left."

Jack sighed. "Alright, love. You win."

I smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He continued to row until we got to a rocky shore. We climbed out of the boat, and headed for what Jack called the Treasure Room. "Who is Stan Shunpike?"

"Oh, he's a make believe character out of a book that won't be out for at least another three hundred years. His name just kinda popped into my head."

"Ah. Clever."

We continued to walk on for a minute. I slipped on part of the rock, nearly falling flat on my butt until Jack caught me and helped me keep steady. When I was standing up all the way, I noticed just how close we were to each other. Our eyes met, and we stood there for about half a minute. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't speak. I could only stare into his eyes, locked in a trance, knowing that he staring right back.

_They say eyes are the windows to the soul_, I thought. _This is just great! Now he's definitely gonna know how I feel.  
><em>  
>I noticed that our faces were maybe an inch away from each other's, our lips almost touching. I interrupted our moment. "Um...we should...uh...go get Will." I walked off.<p>

_Great, I did it again!_

xxx

I saw Jack make his way through the crowd of Barbossa's men, who were currently chanting with guns and swords in the air. In the middle of the gathering, on the top of a pile of treasure, was Barbossa and Will. Two pirates were holding Will down over a stone chest, and Barbossa was holding a knife in one of his hands.

"No," I whispered. "Will. Hurry Jack!"

I walked from my hiding place and into another one so that I could get close enough to hear what they were saying. I also didn't want to be where I was, because if Jack's plan worked, then Barbossa's men would surely find me.

"Jack!" I heard Will say. He began to struggle.

"Not possible!" Barbossa looked as though he had seen a ghost.

"Where's Elizabeth and Jessabelle?" Will asked.

A man grabbed a hold of Jack's shoulder. "They're safe, just like I promised. Elizabeth's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised, and you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really...except for Elizabeth who is in fact a woman."

"Shut up!" Barbossa pointed to Jack. "You're next!"

I saw the knife go to Will's throat. I almost screamed, but I remembered where I was, so I didn't. I began to weave my way through the crowd of pirates, without them noticing, it seemed.

"You don't want to be doing that, mate," Jack said.

"No, I really think I do," Barbossa argued. He prepared himself to slit Will's throat. I was now next to Jack, but stopped when the same pirate grabbed my shoulder.

I looked up at Barbossa and said, "Your funeral." I was giving Barbossa the meanest look I could give him. Will noticed me, and struggled a little. I looked at him and shook my head. He stopped.

Barbossa stopped, pulled the knife away from Will, and looked at me. "Why don't I want to be doing it, missy?"

"Well, because—"

Jack interrupted me by slapping the hand of the pirate who was holding on to us (who let go quickly) and began talking again. "Because the _HMS Dauntless_, pride of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore. Waiting for you."

I walked away from the pirate who let go of my shoulder so as to not get caught by him again. I added, "That, and you'd have to face a woman scorned by which fury hell hath none."

_I always wanted to say that_, I thought. I saw Jack smile a little.

xxx

Everyone in the room had relaxed a little. Jack and I were standing on the pile of treasure, negotiating with Barbossa. The pirates that were holding Will had loosened up enough that he could now stand up straight instead of bending over Cortéz's treasure.

"Just hear me out mate," Jack began. "You order your men to row out to the _Dauntless_. They do what they do best."

I heard chuckles of agreement from the crewmen. Jack continued. "Robert's your Uncle, Fannie's your Aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. Of course, you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue? But what of the _Pearl_?"

As I listened, it finally occurred to me that Jack wanted in here not to save Will, but to get his ship back. He was doing this for himself!

"Name me captain. I'll sail under your colors, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder and you get to introduce yourself as Commodore Barbossa, savvy?"

"And I suppose in exchange you want me not to kill the whelp?" Barbossa asked, bugging towards Will.

I opened my mouth to interject, but Jack beat me to it. "No, no, not at all, by all means, kill the whelp. Just not yet."

_I knew it! _I gave him the meanest look I could. "Wait to lift the curse, at the opportune moment," Jack continued, looking at Will while taking some pieces of the treasure out of the chest.

"By means after you've killed Norrington's men. Every. Last. One." As he said those last three words, he dropped a piece of the treasure back into the chest. I looked down as he did this and noticed him sneak one into his partially gloved right hand.

Will noticed, too.

"You've been planning this from the beginning!" Will exclaimed. "Ever since you learned my name!"

"Yeah," was all Jack said.

I grabbed a hold of his arm. "What?"

"You heard him."

He went to grab a hold of my arm to let go of his, but I moved away from him. "How could you?" I whispered. No one seemed to hear me.

"I want fifty percent of your plunder," Barbossa said.

"Fifteen," Jack argued.

"Forty."

"Twenty-five. I'll buy you a hat. A really big one, Commodore."

Barbossa took a moment to think it over. After a brief moment of silence, he said "We have an accord."

They shook hands, and then Jack said "All hands to the boats!"

Barbossa looked at him askance. "Apologies," Jack said. "You give the orders."

Barbossa nodded. He looked out to his crew, and smiled. I didn't like that smile at all. "Gents, take a walk."

The crew laughed and started off.

"Not to the boats?" I asked him. He gave me a look that didn't really reassure me at all.

I looked at Jack, again, giving him the meanest look I could manage. Before I could say anything or do anything, a pirate by the name of Twigg grabbed a hold of me and stood me next to Will.

_When all this is over_, I thought. _I'm gonna kill him_.

xxx

Will and I stood there for a good fifteen minutes in silence while Jack walked around and looked through all of the treasure.

Barbossa finally spoke up, breaking the silence in the room, with the exception of Jack throwing a piece of treasure back into the piles.

"I must admit, Jack," he said. "I thought I had ye figured. Turns out yer a hard man to predict."

Jack turned to him as he threw another piece of treasure into one of the piles. "Me, I'm dishonest! And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest."

He began walking closer to a pirate standing ten feet away from Will and me. "I mean, honestly," he continued. "It's the honest ones you want to watch out for. Because you can never predict when they'll do something incredible stupid!"

He took the sword of the pirate in front of us, pushed him into the water, and threw the sword to Will, who caught it despite the fact that his hands were tied behind him. He skillfully cut his bonds free and fought the pirate behind him. Jack went after Barbossa.

"Incredible!" I exclaimed.

Twigg held on to me tighter. I struggled against him, trying to free myself. Then I remembered something.

"There's no way you're getting out, girly," Twigg said.

"Oh really? Then I'm just going to have to S.I.N.G."

"What?"

I elbowed him in the stomach, stomped on his foot, head butted him with the back of my head, and kicked him in the groin. This took all of two seconds to do, and Twigg was on the ground in pain.

While he was still on the ground, I took his sword, and pushed him into the water. Will was currently fighting two pirates, so I went to help him.

Will parried one of their attacks. He turned and saw me coming.

"Jessabelle—" he began to say.

"Will, look out!" I shouted.

One of the pirates raised their sword and was charging towards Will, but I got there just in time to fight him off. Will continued to fight off the other. In a brief glimpse, I saw that Jack was fighting off Barbossa up an incline. I also saw that Twigg was out of the water and starting to make his way up the incline from the other side so that he was behind Jack.

_No_, I thought.

I turned back towards the man I was fighting. I blocked one of his attacks and kicked him back. Then I ran to help Jack.

I found a stack of small, gold-plated knives and picked them up. I sheathed the sword I was using and began to throw them at Twigg, each one meeting their mark.

_Huh_, I thought. _I'm better at this than I thought. All those years playing darts have paid off!_

I pulled out a sling-shot that I had made from my pocket, grabbed a decent sized rock, and shot it at Twigg. He was finally knocked out.

Jack was still fighting Barbossa up the incline, so I unsheathed the sword and ran up behind Barbossa. Jack noticed me, and said, "No, Jessabelle. This is my fight."

I wanted to say "Screw you, I don't care," but I didn't. I didn't have the heart to. I understood the rules of engaging in sword fight, so I held back.

Barbossa threw his sword to the ground. I found this odd. "Ye can't beat me, Jack," he said.

Jack ran him through. Barbossa just stood there, as if it never happened.

_Who IS he?_ I wondered, wide eyed. _WHAT is he?_

He pulled the sword out of his stomach and turned it on Jack, stabbing him straight through the stomach.

"NO!" I yelled.

I dropped the sword, which was stupid of me, and charged at Barbossa with full force. He grabbed a hold of me and swung me to where I was directly in front of him. I screamed because of the pain I was feeling in my arms where he grabbed me. I struggled to get out of his hold, but he turned me around so that my back was to him, and held me tighter. He held my head still so that I could see Jack. So I could watch him die.

"No, Jack. NO!" I screamed through my sobs.

I stopped when I saw him walk backwards into the moonlight. His clothes became tattered, flesh shedding away to expose the skeleton. Some flesh clung to the bone. Jack stood there examining his sudden change.

"That's interesting," he said.

He fiddled with something in his left hand. It was the one medallion he kept from the chest. He looked at Barbossa and said "Couldn't resist mate." I assumed he was smiling, but I couldn't tell.

Barbossa huffed and threw me at Jack, who caught me and helped me to the side. He pulled his sword out of his gut as Barbossa picked his up. Jack engaged him again, and kicked him. The kick sent Barbossa rolling down the incline.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked me.

I nodded. "I think I might have some bruises on my upper arms, but I think I'll be okay."

"Good," he said. "Now stay back. Barbossa's mine." With that, Jack went after Barbossa.

_That's the second time he's asked me that and looked as though he meant it_, I thought. _Does he care about me?  
><em>  
>I didn't stay there and think about it for long. I saw that Will was now fighting three pirates. I looked behind me and noticed that Twigg was gone. I looked back down and saw that he had joined the fight.<p>

_Bugger! _I thought. I ran back down the incline to join them.

I picked up another rock, pulled my sling-shot out of my pocket and shot it at Twigg. It hit him in the head, but it didn't do much. He turned toward me and began to engage.

I didn't have a weapon, since he must have grabbed his when he had a chance, so I decided to disarm him. When he was close enough, I dodged his attack and tripped him. When he was down, I kicked his hand. His hand loosened, and I took the sword from him.

I turned to run from him, but he caught my foot, causing me to trip. I rolled onto my back, and just as he was about to jump on top of me, I put my legs up and pushed with what strength I had. This caused the pirate to flip over me and land on his back a few feet away from me. I rolled over and got up. I grabbed the sword and ran to Will's aid.

"Miss me?" I asked.

"Are you okay?" he asked me as he parried one of the pirates' attacks.

"Yes. I'm fine. At least I will be." Then I added, "And stop answering my questions with questions. It's annoying!" I slashed at the pirate I was currently fighting.

We continued to fight for what felt like an hour. A short pirate with a long black beard that seemed to be smoking up knocked Will down, saying "I'll teach you the meaning of pain!" He raised his sword, but was stopped.

"You like pain?" someone asked. It was Elizabeth, who walked up, carrying a gold curtain rod, and smack the pirate across the face. "Try wearing a corset!" she added.

She swung the rod in Will's direction and helped him up. They stood there for a second and stared at each other. They eventually came out of it when we heard grunts and shouts from Jack's fight with Barbossa. They were in a puddle and exposed in the moonlight. It was creepy to watch.

_It's like watching a horror film_, I thought.

"Whose side is Jack on?" Elizabeth asked.

Will shrugged. "At the moment..."

We turned from watching them fight, and continued to fight our own battle. When I fought my guy back, who was in a skeleton form like Jack and Barbossa, I turned to Will and Elizabeth and said, "Wait, them being all skeleton-like is part of the curse, right?"

"That is correct," Elizabeth said.

"And whoever has a piece of the Aztec treasure has to pay blood money and return the gold to the chest in order for the curse to be lifted?"

"Yes," Will said. One of the pirates charged at him. He dodged and parried the attack.

I kicked the pirate fighting me back. I pulled my medallion out of my shirt, and looked at.

_Whoever has a piece of the treasure has to pay in blood_, I thought.

I ran off towards the chest. "Jessabelle!" Will called after me.

I made to the chest just in time to see Will and Elizabeth make a cursed pirate shish-kabob. Will stuck a bomb in the stomach of one and they pushed them out of the moonlight. Will and Elizabeth ran for cover, Will coming towards me and the chest.

"What are you doing?" he asked me.

I yanked the medallion from my neck, and grabbed the knife. "I'm gonna end this."

I took the knife and cut the palm of my left hand and held the medallion tight, to make sure that plenty of my blood was on it.

I was about to toss it in the chest when Will stopped me. He took the knife from me, took the other medallion from his neck, and did the same as I did.

"Now we wait for Jack," he said.

"What?"

"He did say to wait for the opportune moment, didn't he?"

I nodded. I caught on to what he was saying.

Jack and Barbossa were fighting in the safety of the shadows. I saw Jack take his sword and cut his hand. He threw something at us. In the next second, I had yet another medallion in my hand.

Elizabeth ran from her hiding spot, only to have Barbossa pull his gun on her. A shot rang in the air. But it wasn't Barbossa that pulled the trigger.

I looked and saw smoke coming from Jack's pistol. Jack shot Barbossa. His last shot was used up.

"Ten years you carried that pistol," Barbossa pointed out. "And now you waste your shot."

"He didn't waste it," I said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Barbossa looked up to Will and I, and we released all three medallions. All 882 gold pieces were returned to the chest. The curse was lifted.

Barbossa looked back towards Jack, who put his hand down. "I feel...cold," we heard him say. Then, he fell, an apple falling out of his hand.

Jack put his pistol in his belt/sash and walked around to inspect the treasure once more. Will walked towards Elizabeth.

I stood there, watching them go on and do what they wanted or needed to do. I was relieved to know that I had my brother back, relieved to know that he was alive and well, despite a minor injury on his hand. I was relieved to see that he had found someone he truly cared about.

I was also relieved to know that Jack was still alive, even after everything that has happened. I walked in the direction he headed in.

I needed to tell him how I felt. I needed it to be out in the open.

_If I don't do this_, I thought, _this is going to be a long voyage_.

* * *

><p>AN: Anybody catch the reference I made to a certain movie? If you did, PM me and I'll tell you if you're right and will post the result next chapter!


	9. Back to the Future

Author's Note: Last chapter guys! And boy is it a long one! I want to thank those of you who have reviewed, faved, and subscribed to this story. I can honestly say this is the first fanfic I have finished. **Or is it?**

On that note…the poll I posted last chapter is still open. **Do you think I should continue the story on after this chapter of Curse of the Black Pearl (include the other three films) or should I leave it as is and make separate stories for the others (one for Dead Man's Chest, etc.)?** Let me know what you think by pressing that Review button below and leave a comment. Know that if I do continue on, I will have to edit the title of the fanfic, in which I would personally PM each and every one of you and inform you of the new title.

Those of you who answered my last minute question at the end of the last chapter, it is in fact from Miss Congeniality (1 & 2). I just had to put that in. I couldn't help it!

Enjoy the finale, guys, and don't be shy to press that review button! It was a pleasure to put this out for others to read. NO FLAMES please!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Back to the Future<strong>

Jack was standing there, rummaging through the assorted baubles and jewels in one of the treasure heaps. I stood there watching him, trying to sort out what I was going to say.

_If I don't tell him now, it's going to eat me alive_, I thought.

I took a deep breath, and walked up to him. "Jack?"

He looked away from the treasure heap and turned to face me. "What is it, love?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. _Come on, Jess_, I thought to myself. _Just say it! Just do it!  
><em>  
>I did the one thing I wanted and didn't want to do. I slapped him, and it was pretty loud, too.<p>

It didn't take him long to recover. Must have taken a hit like that before.

"What was that for? Not sure I deserved it," he said.

"That," I said as I took a deep breath. "Was for using Will as leverage to get the _Pearl_ back. And yes, you did deserve that!"

"Oh."

"'Oh'? That's all you have to say is 'oh'?" I was furious.

He just looked at me, puzzled.

I was shaking my head. "You know, I thought you were different. Different than what people say about you. And trust me, I've heard what Will, Elizabeth, and some choice others have said. But, now...I'm not so sure."

"Jessabelle—"

"I gave you the benefit of a doubt, only to find out that the only thing that mattered to you was your ship! Yes, you helped Will to save Elizabeth, and saved Will's life along with mine, but this—"

"Jessabelle—" Jack tried to interrupt, but I didn't let him.

"I mean, you couldn't have mentioned any of your plans to me or anyone else? Then at least I wouldn't be so, so—"

"Angry? Upset?"

"Yes, Jack. All of the above!"

"Alright, come down, love," he said.

"Never tell a girl to come down!" I exclaimed. "What part of any of that do men not understand!"

We stood there in silence. I was looking down at the ground, trying to breathe. I knew Jack was watching me.

_That's not what I wanted to say_, I thought. _Not exactly anyway._

"Feel better?" Jack asked me.

"Yes, I do, actually," was my response. It did feel good to get that off my chest.

"But after all, I am a pirate, love."

I looked up at him. "That's still no excuse for everything you've done."

"Of course it does. A pirate is always looking to profit."

I thought about it for a moment. "Still...I thought you were different." I walked away from him, starting towards the exit.

"Last I recall," I heard Jack call after me. "You were the one who claimed you loved me."

I stopped where I was. I turned to face him. A smile was playing at the edge of Jack's mouth. The same went for me. I slowly walked back towards him.

"You...heard me?" I felt quite embarrassed.

"Aye," Jack said.

"I didn't think that you did," I said. "I mean, I hoped you didn't."

"You didn't? Ah."

_Damn it!_ I thought. _I did it again!_

"Well, then, I wouldn't be surprised," he said. There was a twinge of humor there, but I didn't quite get it at first.

"I mean, I'm sure you've heard that millions of times. And I didn't think—"

Then it happened. He pulled me in close and I felt his lips on mine. I was completely taken aback. I hadn't expected him to do that. My wide eyes closed, and I kissed him back. His lips were surprisingly soft. My head was swimming. It was intoxicating.

When we finally broke away from each other, we just stood there staring at each other. I didn't know what to say. My fingers made their way up to feel my lips.

"Jack, I—"

Jack looked down and saw my hand. It was the same hand I had cut when I helped to end the curse. He took it in his hand.

"That looks angry," he said.

"Hmm? Oh, well, I was angry at Barbossa for nearly killing you and Will, and for everything he's done."

"Ah," he said. "Here, let me fix that up for you."

He pulled out a ribbon of cloth and wrapped it around the wound. It hurt a little when he tied it.

"Aaah," I breathed.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

He held my hand in his for a while, rubbing it. I smiled and looked up at him.

"Come," he said. "Shall we head for the _Pearl_?"

"Yes."

"I'll fix that hand up better when are aboard her."

He grabbed some treasure, grabbed my hand, and led me towards the exit. On the way, we overheard Will and Elizabeth's conversation.

"We should return to the _Dauntless_," Elizabeth said.

"Your fiancé will want to know you're safe," was Will's response.

Elizabeth walked off in a hurry, clearly hurt by what Will said.

"If you were waiting for the opportune moment," Jack said. "That was it. Now if you would be so kind, I'd be much obliged if you'd drop me off at my ship." with that, he walked off.

I walked up next to Will. "At least one of us had a happy ending," I said.

He looked at me. "What?"

"Nothing!" I walked in the direction of the longboats, Will following close behind.

The four of us climbed into the longboat and cast off, with Will rowing. I sat next to Jack, who I knew was eager to see his ship. After all of those years, he would finally have it back.

I leaned my head his shoulder, waiting to gaze up at the _Pearl _with him.

But as we made it outside, there was one thing we didn't see—the _Pearl _itself.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Elizabeth said.

I looked up at Jack, and held his hand, my fingers intertwining his. _At least he has me_, I thought.

"They done what's right by them. Can't expect any more than that," he said.

Will rowed us to the _Dauntless _instead.

_This is gonna be a long voyage_, I thought.

xxx

My back itched, and I couldn't reach it. _Stupid dress_, I thought. _Stupid corset!_

I was standing next to Elizabeth, along with her father and the Commodore, standing in a shade area at Port Royal's fort. As much as I loved the honor of standing with those belonging to higher society, I hated the fact that I had to wear the gown I was dressed in. I couldn't breathe at all.

Elizabeth must have noticed that I was having problems, because she handed me her fan. "This should help," she said. "But not by much."

"It's better than nothing," I said, taking the fan. I unfolded it and began fanning myself. "Whose idea was it to make these things?"

"I've been told it's the latest fashion in London," the Governor said.

Elizabeth and I looked at each other, not believing a word he was saying.

_I'd like the gown better if I didn't have to wear a corset and if it was on better terms_, I thought.

I really wanted it to be on better terms. But, unfortunately, Fate had other plans. We were here for Jack's hanging.

Once we had reached the _Dauntless _after the battle at Isla de Muerta, Commodore Norrington placed Jack in the brig for the remainder of the voyage back to Port Royal. I spent the voyage going back and forth between the hold, the brig (where Jack fixed up my hand since I had needle and thread), and then the main deck. When we arrived, I was taken to the Governor's mansion and given a room, and Will was granted clemency. Jack was sentenced to an appointment with the gallows.

"Let me know when the noose is around his neck," I whispered to Elizabeth. "That way I can look away."

I didn't want to be here. I didn't want Jack to be here.

"This is wrong," Elizabeth said.

"Commodore Norrington is bound by the law. As are we all," the Governor said.

_Yeah_, I thought. _You guys are, but I'm not_.

The official continued to read off Jack's charges. "...impersonating an officer of the Spanish Royal Navy, impersonating a cleric of the Church of England..."

_That's a lot to be hung for though_.

I looked around the fort, and noticed Will moving through the crowd to get to us. "Governor Swann, Commodore," he said, nodding to each. "Elizabeth."

She looked at him. "I should have told you every day from the moment I met you," he told her. "I love you."

_Aw!_ I thought. _About time!_

He walked away, pushing through the crowd. I heard a squawk. Elizabeth seemed to her it, too, because she looked at me and then looked in the direction the squawk came from. Perched on a banner, was Cotton's parrot.

Will kept pushing through the crowd towards Jack. Elizabeth and I caught on.

Norrington stepped forward to attempt to stop Will, but Elizabeth caused a distraction. "I can't breathe!" she exclaimed, pretending to faint.

"Elizabeth!" Governor Swann exclaimed. Norrington and the Governor attended to her. I made my escape to a concealed area, where I had conveniently hid my bag. I grabbed it and grabbed my tennis shoes out of it. I took off the heals I was currently wearing and put on my tennis shoes. Luckily, the gown was big enough that I could still wear my jeans underneath. The maids never saw me put them on underneath after they left the room.

_I'm so sneaky_, I thought.

I put my bag over my shoulder like a messenger bag, picked up my skirts, and ran out to help Will. By the time I got out, Will was fighting the executioner and Jack was dangling, balancing on a sword.

I ran up to the platform, pulled a knife out of my bag, and cut Jack loose. I ran back down the steps to help Jack.

"You alright?" I asked him.

"Just peachy," he said. I cut him free of his bonds, and grabbed the other end of the rope.

We ran out from underneath the gallows, tripping guards as we did. Will front flipped off of the gallows and joined us. We ran up a set of steps, which led to a battlement, where we were cornered by Norrington's men. All muskets were on us.

Norrington, the Governor, and Elizabeth pushed through the crowd. Jack and I were hiding behind Will. I began digging through my bag and took out my hoodie.

"Hold this," I said to Jack and handed him my bag. He gave me a puzzled look as I unstrapped the gown I was wearing. I got several puzzled looks from some of the officers.

"Oh, come on!" I exclaimed. "I have clothes on underneath, perverts!" I still got some puzzling looks.

"I thought we would have to endure some manner of ill-conceived escape attempt. But not from you," Norrington was speaking directly to Will. By the time he said this, I had the corset untied and was pulling it off. I was now in my purple T-shirt, skinny jeans, and tennis shoes.

"Much better," I said, taking in a deep breath and putting on my hoodie. Jack handed my bag back to me. "Thank you."

I made the mistake of turning to face Norrington. "Or you," he said to me.

I smiled nervously.

"On our return to Port Royal, I granted you clemency," the Governor began. "And this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lot with him? He's a pirate!"

"And a good man!" I exclaimed. The Governor Gave me a puzzling look, most likely due to my wardrobe change, but I ignored him.

Will threw his sword down. "If all I have achieved here is that the hangman will earn two pairs of boots instead of one, then so be it. At least my conscience will be clear."

"Correction, three." I pointed to myself.

"You forget your place, Turners," Norrington said.

_Now he makes it plural! _I thought.

"It's right here, between you and Jack," Will pointed out.

Elizabeth stepped in between Norrington and Will. "As is mine," she said.

"Elizabeth!" the Governor exclaimed. "Lower your weapons," he demanded of the officers. "For goodness sakes, put them down!"

"So this is where your heart truly lies?" Norrington asked Elizabeth.

"It is."

_Poor guy_, I thought. _Still, he should've known_.

I heard a squawk and the flutter of wings. I looked up and saw Cotton's parrot fly off.

Jack must have noticed, too. "Well, I'm actually feeling rather good about this," he said as he walked over to Governor Swann. He directly told him, "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually? Ecumenically? Grammatically?"

The Governor looked disgusted.

Jack walked over to Norrington. "I want you to know that I was rooting for you mate. Know that."

He walked past the love birds and I. "Elizabeth," he said.

She turned from Will and looked at Jack.

"It would've never have worked between us, darlin'. I'm sorry."

She gave him the "really?" expression. He ran past us, and grabbed my hand. He stopped all of a sudden. "Will, nice hat."

We got to the top of the stairs that lead to an upper level of the battlement. Jack let go of my hand and turned to face everyone else. "Friends! This is the day you will always remember as the day that you—"

He walked backwards and started plummeting into the water below. I watched as he safely landed in a spot where there were no rocks, and resurfaced.

Someone bumped into me as they were running to see of Jack survived or not, and I began plummeting towards the water. I screamed, not expecting that to happen.

_I'm gonna die_, I thought. _I'm gonna die!_

I hit the water and went under. I missed the rocks by several feet. I swam back to the surface. I began sputtering water as I resurfaced. I saw Jack swim towards me.

"Well, I didn't expect you to follow," he said.

I coughed again, trying to breath. "I didn't either," I managed to say. "Someone bumped into me." I coughed again.

Then I heard someone say "Man overboard!"

I saw Jack smile. He took my hand and helped me swim towards an approaching ship. It was the _Black Pearl.  
><em>  
>Some of the crew members threw a line to us and helped pull us up. We went flying in the air, only to land in the helm. Happy to be on a flat surface, I got on my hands and knees and continued to cough, still sputtering some water from the fall. When I was done with that, I stood up and took as many deep breaths as I could.<p>

Gibbs walked over to us. He was holding Jack's hat.

"I thought you were supposed to keep to the Code?" he asked him.

"I figured they were more actually guidelines," Gibbs said. He helped Jack up and handed him his hat. "Thank you."

"Jack Sparrow," someone said. I looked and saw that Ana Maria had spoken up. She walked up to him and put his coat onto his shoulders.

He walked up to the steering wheel, and run his hands over it. He was admiring the ship, which was once again his.

_He looks very happy_, I thought. I looked away and looked out at the open ocean that we were sailing towards.

"On deck, you scabrous dogs!" I heard him shout. "Man the braces! Let down and haul to run free!"

I turned and saw the crew scurry around to fulfill Jack's orders. Then I looked over at him.

_He certainly is acting like a captain_, I thought.

I began to walk towards him. I actually heard him humming. "_And really bad eggs. Drink up, me hearties yo ho!_" I heard him sing.

I didn't want to disturb him, so I turned and began to walk down to the main deck.

"Jessabelle," he said.

I turned back toward him, and walked towards him. "Yes, Captain?"

"You don't have to call me that, you know. But I am flattered."

I laughed a little. "What is it, Jack?"

"Would like to take the wheel?" he asked.

"Um...sure, I guess." I walked in front of him so that I was behind the wheel. "Where to? Mind you, I don't know where anything is, so you'll have to give me directions."

"We're heading for Tortuga," he said. He walked up right behind me, grabbed a hold of my hands, and began to move the wheel exactly where he wanted to go. "We have to head east of here, following the winds."

"So, I would move the wheel more in the direction of starboard?"

"Aye."

I smiled and turned the wheel more to the right. As I did, the wind began to fill the sails. We began to pick up speed, and I could feel it.

_Now I know why Jack loves this ship so much_, I thought.

I stepped away from the wheel and let Jack have control of it again. I walked back towards the rail, and looked out towards the Caribbean waters. I let out a deep sigh.

"Mr. Gibbs," Jack called out.

"Aye, Cap'n?" Gibbs replied.

"Take the wheel. We're headed for Tortuga."

"Aye, aye Cap'n!" He was really enthusiastic about going to Tortuga.

Jack walked up and stood next to me. "What's wrong, darlin'?"

"Nothing," I said. "I guess, I just miss my friends, that's all."

"Ah, back in, whatever time they're from." He waved his hand as he said this.

"Yeah. Do you think I'll ever see them again?"

"I'm sure you'll figure out a way."

"I hope I do."

Just then, the ship lurched. "Mister Gibbs, do not sink my ship!"

"But it wasn't me, Jack!"

I looked over the rail. There wasn't a rock to been seen. Nor a reef.

"What do you think—?" I began to ask Jack, but was interrupted by the ship lurching again.

I hadn't gained my sea legs yet, so I tumbled to the deck. Jack helped me up.

"Not quite sure," he said.

I looked over the rail again. That was a bad idea. The ship lurched once more. This time, it caused me to go over the rail, bag and all.

I fell into the water. I resurfaced and began sputtering water again. "Jessabelle!" I heard Jack call out. I looked up to see that he was beginning to throw some rope out to pull me in.

"It's a little early to be swimming, love."

I reached for the rope, but never grabbed a hold of it. I was pulled under the water.

_Not again_, I thought.

I struggled to swim back to the surface, but to no avail. A blue light appeared, and everything went black.

xxx

I resurfaced once more, sputtering and coughing up water for the umpteenth time, only to have hands grab a hold of me.

_Oh no_, I thought. _Norrington's men caught to us. Either that or another group of pirates are after us_.

I was glad to find out it was neither of the two options going through my mind.

"Oh my God, Jessabelle!" I heard a familiar voice say. "Are you alright?"

"We thought maybe you had drowned," another familiar voice said.

I looked to see who was addressing me. It was none other than Stephany and Jason. I was back in Venice.

"Yeah," I coughed. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Stephany asked. "Because you were under the water for quite some time."

I pulled them both into a hug. "Yes," I said. "God, I'm just glad to see you guys! And glad that I'm back in 2011!"

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked me.

"Oh! Jessabelle, what happened to your hand?"

Everyone looked at my hand. "Oh, I cut my hand. Nothing big."

"Underwater?" Jason asked.

"Not exactly."

Jason gave me a puzzled look.

"And, Jess, your necklace...it's gone!" Stephany exclaimed.

"And good riddance!" I turned towards the water and spat at it. "That thing nearly cost mine and my brother's lives!"

Jason and Stephany looked at each other and then at me. "What are you talking about?" they said together.

"I wasn't underwater the whole time," I began, then stopped. "You know what, never mind. You wouldn't believe me if I told you anyway."

"You'd be surprised," a raspy voice said.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, thinking it was Barbossa. But I knew better, and this voice was much deeper. I turned to our mentor.

"Signore Caesre," I said. It had been a while since I had seen that scared face. I had to do a double-take. _He reminds me of someone_.

I looked at everyone and said, "It's a bit of a long story."

"Then why don't we head to the _Mangled Mermaid _and talk about it there," Caesre said. "That way you can get cleaned up as well."

"Fine by me, sir."

I helped Caesre row us back towards the harbor, but instead of docking there, we rowed up a smaller canal that took us directly to the _Mangled Mermaid_. It was in a small enclosed court. It was a small pub that could not be found except by those who already know where it is.

We tied the boat up and climbed out. I pulled my bag out of the boat, and got puzzling looks from my friends.

"What?" I asked.

"What happened to your bag?" Jason asked me.

"Nothing. It's inside this bag." I pulled my backpack out of the makeshift bag I made. "See!"

"Oh."

We headed in the small pub, and sat our stuff down at one of the tables. Stephany and Jason sat down, and Caesre went to get the first aid kit. I begin pulling the contents of my backpack out and placing them on the table. Everything was dry.

_Thank you inventors of the waterproof backpack! _I thought.

"Anyone care for a drink?" Caesre asked.

"Coors for me," Jason said.

"Same here," Stephany added.

"And you, Jessabelle?" Caesre asked me.

"Rum," I called out.

I got shocking looks from Stephany and Jason. Signore Caesre merely chuckled.

When I was sure that my electronics and sketchbook were dry, I pulled out the only dry clothes I knew had. I was quite surprised to find that they were still there, along with the boots.

I pulled out the outfit that Jack loaned me, and headed to the restroom to change. I was interrogated thoroughly when I returned.

"Whoa, Jess, you ready for Halloween or something?" Jason asked.

"Ha ha, very funny," I said.

"Well, you are kinda dressed like a pirate," Stephany said. "You're just gonna waltz out of here dressed like that where the public can see you?"

"Yes. Yes, I am." I took my seat next to Jason, and put my things back into my backpack. Everything except my sketchbook. "I was kinda going for that."

Caesre pulled up a chair next to mine, placing our choice drinks in front of us. "I wasn't sure if you wanted a glass or not, Jessabelle, so I brought a whole bottle." I took the bottle of rum, uncorked it, and took a long swig, enjoying the feeling of sweet fire coursing down my throat.

Caesre did the same. He set his bottle down on the table, and sat down.

"Let me see your hand, Jessabelle."

I took the cloth from around my hand and let him see it, and he began cleaning it.

"So, tell us about what you think we're not gonna believe," Stephany said.

I took another long swig, and sat up straight. "Prepare yourselves for a tale that involves swashbuckling action, explosions, pirates, and a lot of rum."

I told them everything that had happened. From the first time I met Jack and reunited with my brother to what happened on Isla de Muerta, everything was laid on the table.

xxx

"Unbelievable!" Jason exclaimed. "Why didn't we get blasted to the past with you?"

"I still don't know how it works," I said. "The time traveling thing."

"But that's great that you found your brother," Stephany added. "All those years, you thought he was lost."

"Yeah, just turns out it was the other way around. Go figure!"

"So, what's Jack look like?"

"I thought you'd never ask, Steph." I opened my sketchbook to the page I had dedicated to Jack. I frowned.

"That's him?" Jason asked.

"Wow," was all Stephany could say. She looked up at me. "What's the matter?"

"I never got to finish it. Elizabeth interrupted me when she came back from her walk."

"Ugh," Stephany said. "I hate it when that happens."

"That's quite a likeness of Jackie," Caesre said. "And it seems he can clean a wound well enough that it'll heal without getting infected."

"Thanks," I said, then added. "Wait, what?"

"You know Jack?" Jason asked. "How? You told us that you've always lived here."

"Yeah," Stephany agreed. "How could you possibly know him?"

"Stories," was Caesre's answer. "Stories span over the years." He pulled an acoustic guitar from the top shelf behind the bar, sat down, and began playing. It was always soothing to hear him play.

"Oh!" My friends said in unison.

I, for one, wasn't buying it. _He still reminds me of someone_, I thought. I got up from the table and threw away my bottle. "Can I have another one?" I asked.

"Underneath the bar," Caesre said.

"There's one thing I, for one, would have loved to see."

"What's that Jason?" Stephany asked him.

"J-belle over here wearing that dress."

"Ugh, please," I said. I ripped the stopper out of the bottle at that comment, and took a long swig of rum. "I hated wearing that dress. I hope I never have to wear one again." I sat back down. Stephany shifted in her seat.

"What's wrong, Steph?"

"Well," she started. "Remember our professors at the Academy saying that after graduation they were going to hold a huge party?"

"Yeah, go on."

"This year they've decided that it would be mandatory for students to attend, and since I am on the committee, I know what the theme is. And they've decided to make the dress code for the party mandatory as well." She paused for a moment. "Please don't hate me, Jessabelle! It wasn't my idea!"

"What is it?" Then I had an epiphany. "Stephany!"

"It's not my fault! I was against it!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Jason asked, feeling a little out of the conversation.

"It's an era themed party," Stephany said. "That is, Renaissance Italy themed, meaning..."

"Girls have to wear dresses and guys have to wear fluffy shirts and what not?"

"Yes."

"I knew it!" I said.

"But it wasn't my idea. It was Cindy Beckett's idea."

"Oooh!" I exclaimed. "When I get my hands on her..."

Cindy Beckett was the most popular girl at our old high school. She tried to outdo us in everything (and usually did), and constantly teased me about being an outcast and my love for all things pirates. She even gave me a hard time when I dressed as Captain Hook for the Halloween dance our senior year.

We thought we had gotten rid of her when we graduated high school and came to Venice. It certainly was a surprise to see her on the first day at the art academy we were attending.

"The only reason she's here is because her dad is rich," was Jason's answer to her attendance.

"Grrrr!" I growled in remembrance.

"Jessabelle," Stephany said. "The party isn't for another month. You have plenty of time to get a dress and everything else. So just relax."

"Good thing I've already got a drink, because I'm gonna need it after hearing that."

We sat there and finished our drinks. Afterwards, we paid for them, even though Caesre said they were on the house, and headed back towards our apartment. We were fortunate that it was close by that we didn't need to take a gondola.

"Thank God we don't have class tomorrow," I said.

"Why's that?" Stephany asked

"I'm gonna need a lot of rest after the ordeal I just went through."

We laughed as we walked up the stairs that led to our apartment.

_That, and to prep for graduation_, I thought. _This is gonna be quite a long month_.

* * *

><p>AN: Don't forget to tell me if I should continue or write the rest as separate stories! Just leave it as a review or PM me!


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